Shadows in the Mist
by asmallwren
Summary: AU- Set as if Valentine had succeeded in taking over the Clave and now war rages between his evil Shadow hunter/Demon army and the remainance of the Clave. Clace, Malec, Sizzy, rated M for violence and infrequent sex AS IN NOT OFTEN AT ALL, PLEASE, THIS IS NOT JUST SMUT.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is an AU story. Valentine succeeded in his endeavours to rule over the Shadow hunters, Jace, Clary, Magnus, Alec, everyone basically is still alive. I repeat NO MAIN CHARACTERS FROM THE BOOKS ARE DEAD. I hate reading ones where they kill off Jace or Clary, sorry but it upsets me :D oh Sebastian is alive; I need him for the story. Who else is going to act like a c**t? Right, so Valentine is ruling from Alicante, everyone is basically in hiding round the world, trying to bring him down and I have added one more character who is . . . different to say the least (she won't appear for a bit through I need to do some other stuff first). :D You'll see. Umm mundanes still don't know about Shadow hunters, but their death toll has gone up because the good Shadow hunters can't go around vanquishing all the demons whilst on the run from Valentine, and the bad guys find it good sport to watch them being killed by things they can't see. Yeah, they're not nice people children.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Jace, Clary does and I fear for anyone's life that claims otherwise :D**

Jace hit the ground running and began sprinting towards the nearest shadows for him to hide in. He shot between two buildings, into a dark alley way, where no one could see him. He was glad to be back in New York, but he hated travelling by Magnus' portals. They were good, but it was supposed to find a spot which is as far away as possible from any demons, but that meant that it kept shifting and changing, which made anyone feel nauseous. Also it couldn't factor in Valentine's Minions. They came up the same as any other Shadow hunter, on Magnus' locating senses.

Jace breathed in the warm smells of his city and grinned; it felt good to be home. He listened for a few seconds before deciding that it was safe and slipped out, still in the shadows, and made his way towards the Clave's hide out. He hadn't seen Clary for about three months now and he was dying to be back in her arms. Three of the Clave's Institutes around the world had survived since Valentine took power, the New York Institute, the London Institute, and the Shanghai Institute. Jace had just spent the last three months in Shanghai, helping them set up their defences and training some of the younger Shadow hunters in how to evade Minions. Maryse had been out there with him for the first two months as had Izzy, but they were called to the London Institute for an emergency there.

Jace reached the new entrance point for his Institute and glanced around before slipping down the tunnel. He hit the bottom and began to make his way along the winding passage. He met the guards on duty, a werewolf and a vampire who stopped him and checked out his I.D. and checking his marriage marks to see if it was him. When they were satisfied they let him through and he nodded thanks to them and started quickly walking down the passage, eager to find Clary. He met several other guards along the way, two fairies, another werewolf and vampire, and a few warlocks. No Shadow hunters were on shift, which was odd. He started feeling uneasy, wanting to know where all the Shadow hunters were.

He made it into the main chamber underground, which was eerily quiet. The remaining Institutes had all created underground bases to try and keep from being discovered for Valentine. Five Institutes had done that around the world, but Paris had been discovered and everyone in the base then had been slaughtered, and Washington had been found, but they all escaped before the Minions and demons arrived, running to any of the three Institutes left. Most Shadow hunters had also given up their hatred for down worlders. There just wasn't any point anymore. They were all fighting for their lives, all fighting Valentine, why not fight together? The moving of the Institutes also aloud the Vampires to enter them, as they were no longer built on sacred soil but rather under it. It meant that they had to watch their heads in places but so long as they didn't touch the ceilings in these places they'd be fine.

Jace caught a flicker of movement in the far corner and a door swung open. Robert limped through it. Robert had lost most of the movement in his left leg after a series of vicious attacks out in London, and had been pulled back to heal. Magnus had done all he could for the aging Shadow hunter, but told him the best thing he needed now was rest and in a few weeks he would be able to do more for him.

Jace moved over to him in the light so as not to startle him, he had become so used to moving silently that he did it instinctively now. Robert noticed and moved towards him.

'Jace! How was Shanghai? Everyone ok I hope?'

'Yeah, but dam, it's good to be home. Where is everyone? Is everyone alright? Where's Clary?'

'There was a gathering of Minions tonight that we found out about and almost everyone is down there. The council weren't sure if they wanted to take Clary but they chose to in the end, they need her runes to get into the building. It takes an exceptionally strong opening rune to break into their hideouts and Clary can do that.'

'Right, tell me where I've got to go.'

'Jace! You can't!'

'Robert. She's my wife for Angel's sake! I need to be out there to protect her! Now where are they?'

Robert sighed then gave in and showed Jace the map at the back of the room. He explained where it was and said; 'She was attached to the team with Luke, Izzy and Maryse. I still think that you shouldn't go but there's no stopping you is there?'

'Thanks Robert.'

Jace set off at a jog to a different exit of the Institute. This corridor was less welcoming. It was dark and the walls were covered with blood. A rogue Minion had managed to get down this one and had slaughtered the two sentries on duty before Robert had cut off his head. The tunnel still smelt and the ceiling dripped with some black coloured liquid that no one had the guts to ask what it was. He made it the entrance, passed the guards on duty and paused. He checked around before sprinting out of the entrance into the nearest shadows. From there he started running towards the warehouse that Robert had told him about.

It took him about ten minutes for him to run there. When he arrived he saw the chaos inside. There were Shadow hunters fighting everywhere, bodies littered the floor, shapes shooting across heads, whether werewolves or demons, Jace didn't know most of the time. He moved into the shadows at the side and started scanning for Clary.

A demon suddenly leapt at him and he rolled to evade its reaching claws. He unsheathed his sword and swung it full force around him, only to see the blade pass straight through the demon and have no effect on it. He scowled and jumped out of the way of another set of its claws swinging towards him. He dropped his sword and pulled out a seraph blade, named it, and stabbed at the demon's head. It let out a shrill scream and vanished. He stooped to pick up his sword, while stowing away the other blade, and turned at a wild cry that erupted behind him. He spun round and saw a Minion running towards him his broad sword raised above his head. The sword came crashing down and Jace only just missed its razor sharp edges by a millimetre. He lashed out with his foot sending the other man sprawling and launched himself at him. Jace hit him full in the face and, as he fell to the ground, drove his sword through his rib cage. The man spluttered once, coughed up blood and then went limp. Jace pulled out his sword and tackled another Minion within arm's reach, who was just about to deliver a killing blow to a werewolf. Jace rolled off the man and the wolf that he'd just saved lunged at the man on the ground, going straight for his neck. The man screamed and then was cut off by a grotesque gurgling noise as the werewolf's teeth ripped open his neck. Jace grimaced and nodded at the werewolf who grinned his way in thanks, red dripping off its long fangs.

Jace then started working his way towards the scaffolding at one side of the ware house, trying to get to higher ground to find Clary. He stabbed many Minions in the back as he made his way over. He was at the foot of the ladder that led up to the first level, when a demon leaped at him, knocking him over and sending his sword flying out of reach. He kicked at it, but it did no good, the demon was too heavy and kept him pined to the ground. It had one giant paw on each of his arms, stopping him from moving them. It had black fur like stuff rippling down its back, which was matted in places with blood. The demon opened its mouth to reveal three rows of razor sharp teeth on its upper and lower jaw with a forked tongue flickering between them. Suddenly a blade came straight through its skull, sticking out its mouth. Demon blood ran down the tip of the sword and dripped on to the side of Jace's face, burning him, before it vanished. The Fairy knight that had saved him took his hand and pulled him up then smiled at him before taking off to find his next opponent.

Jace scooped up his sword then turned and scaled up the scaffolding, looking around at the scene below him. The massive room was full of Shadow hunters, down worlders and demons alike. They scuttled about, tearing at each other and leaving trails of red across the floor. It was a horrific battle; there were rivers of demon, down worlder and Shadow hunter blood streaming down to the dip in the centre of the room, making strange swirling patterns on the floor.

He spotted Clary, then, in the knot of people in the centre of the room, where the most blood was pooling. He jumped down from the scaffolding and ran towards her, cutting and slicing at Minions and demons along his way. He made it to the edge of the dip and saw Clary gritting her teeth as she tried to overpower a mountain of a Shadow hunter, evading his sword swings by fractions and returning with lightning fast strikes of her own. He didn't hesitate as he saw a demon creeping up behind her, about to make a swipe for her back. He jumped down the ledge, sliding on the blood, and leaped onto the demon sinking his silver sword straight into its back, the tip of it protruding from its chest. It wheezed once then vanished. Clary took a swipe at her opponent and knocked him over. She sprang on him stabbing the Minion through the heart before turning to see who had saved her from the demon.

'Jace!' She screamed out his name and ran into his arms. He wrapped them around her and nuzzled the top of her head.

'You miss me, firebug?'

She grinned at him and kissed his cheek. 'Come on, let's clear up here then we can properly celebrate.' He grinned at the wink she sent his way and picked up his sword from where it lay.

Jace looked around trying to find the next unfortunate to fall at his hand and was surprised to find that there were only a few demons and Minions left. Those that hadn't made it out were being finished off mostly by several packs of werewolves. The rest had fled.

He turned to find a grinning Luke, in human form now, jogging up to him. 'Thank Angel you arrived then when you did Jace! They've all taken off!'

'Why? What's wrong with me? Do I smell?'

Clary and Luke laughed at him and Clary cuddled into him, murmuring, 'You smell amazing.'

Luke spoke up then. 'No, they fled at the sight of you! They don't fear a whole army of Shadow hunters and down worlders but they run from the sight of a 19-year old boy!' he laughed again, and several people around them joined in. 'You! The great Jace Lightwood! You have just saved all our lives!'

'Well, I knew my looks were good, but dam, I didn't think they were good enough to save lives.' Jace smirked at them, rather proud of himself, and the warehouse boomed with laughter from all sides.

-Stupid Fucking Time Jump Line-

Jace pinned Clary against the wall of their room. His lips were pressed to hers, her hands were scratching his bare back, and his hands were desperately holding her to him and struggling to unhook her bra at the back. He fingers finally started cooperating with him and he pulled the offending garment off and flung it somewhere in their room.

The room itself was rather like a medium sized dirt cave. The walls were just packed dirt held together with runes, with a few stones embedded in each bottom corner for added strength. There was a double bed along the centre of one wall, with just plain white coverings. There wasn't a door, just a sheet to cover the hole in the walls to let people in and out. There was also a cork board attached to one wall with hundreds of sheets of paper, all with at least one rune drawn on it.

But Jace wasn't admiring the decor right now; he was more interested in the fiery girl caught in his embrace. She nipped and sucked on his bottom lip causing him to moan out loud, then he pinned her back against the wall, regaining control, and ravished her mouth. He had been driven crazy these past three months. All alone without the woman he loved beside him at night, he had missed her more than anything.

Clary started unbuttoning his jeans and tugged them down, running her fingers over the v of muscle that was exposed then. Jace whimpered when she went down on her knees and started to kiss and nip the taught skin above his boxer line. He had his arms out in front of him bracing himself against the wall, his head was dipped and his breathing was ragged and uneven. He groaned loudly when Clary ran her hand up his inner thigh and cupped him, still in his boxers. She started rubbing him through the material, gently applying enough pressure to arouse him, but not enough for him to get any satisfaction out of it.

'Oooh . . . Firebug . . . please! Angel please!'

Clary chuckled at his response and pulled down his boxers to reveal him in all his glory. She gently took hold of him and started working him, up and down before she finally took him into her mouth. Jace was groaning and whimpering, complaining that she was far too good at what she does. He cried out her name as he came in her mouth, and then rested his forehead against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

Clary stood back up again and Jace lost no time in pulling her into a mind numbing kiss. He tugged at her jeans and slipped her knickers down as well and kicked them out of the way. He then pressed up close to her, rubbing himself against her, making her moan and whimper. She hitched one of her legs up around his waist, but he pushed it back down, whispering in her ear, 'Patience is a virtue.'

Jace quickly reached round and grabbed his wallet from his jean pockets. He pulled out a condom and rushed to roll the latex on, Clary whining in impatience.

Clary groaned and leaned her head back whilst thrusting her hips forward, trying to get Jace to fuck her already. He cruised one hand up her leg, slowly but confidently. He then teased her by running one finger up and down her slit, whilst she raked her nails down his back. Jace pushed two fingers up inside her, causing her to gasp and groan, thrusting her hips down onto them, trying to increase the friction between them. Jace started sliding his fingers in and out of her, making her wetter and wetter. The sight of her groaning in pleasure was enough to make him hard again; he wanted just to push inside of her fully.

He pulled his fingers out of her, making her whine in disappointment, and picked her up, bracing her against the wall. He slowly lowered her on to his solid length, relishing the feeling of being deep inside her; somewhere no other man has ever or will ever touch. She belonged to him, no one else.

He started thrusting in and out of her grunting and panting as he did so. She hissed and clung to him desperate for him to go faster, to go harder. He was only too happy to comply and bit down on the base of her neck as he increased the pace of his thrusts. After a while, even if it was Jace, he started to tire, he was holding all of Clary's weight and swinging his hips, it wore him out quickly. He slowed down a bit and Clary noticed the change in pace. She motioned for him to set her down, which he did, and pulled him towards the bed. She pushed him down on to it, him on his back, and straddled him.

Jace groaned at the sight before him, Clary on top of him, grinning at him, slowly impaling herself on his still hard length. Once he was completely inside, Clary started moving up and down on top of him, bouncing, her breasts bobbing. Jace was completely mesmerised by her on top of him, and trust upwards into her, in time with her moving on him.

They came together a few minutes later, calling out each other's name and Clary slumped forward. Jace wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto her side, next to him. He then pulled the covers out from under them and tucked them up around his waist, Clary's chest. Clary snuggled into him, kissed his chest and lay humming for a moment.

'Jace?'

'Yes, my Queen?'

'I love you.'

Jace grinned and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head, 'I love you too,' he whispered before falling asleep with her.

**Right, this is not going to be a one shot, as you have probably already guessed. And it is rated M for sex and violence that will occur throughout the story, just in case you hadn't guessed already. Please review? I love reading readers reviews! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Please forgive me for the latter part of this chapter. It is necessary, but I do hope it isn't as nauseating to read as it was to write. Please see it through and it's not so bad ok? Just hang in there and I promise it'll be fine. Don't abandon me as soon as the blood starts. It was difficult for me to write, I couldn't bear the thought of it being real so please, read through the horror and see the light at the end. If you don't want to read it, because it is very bloody and graphic, skip to the authors note at the very end, I'll let you know everything in a short explanation without the gore, ok? I won't blame you, it's horrible, and I have no intention to ever make anything else in this story so horrible again. (Again I've had to republish one because the God damn time jump lines aren't appearing! Please excuse the random lines of swear words now I hate my laptop-also done it to the 1****st**** chapter as well).**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Jace, or Clary or anyone else. I weep for those reasons . . . think of the millions I would have made . . . **

"No! You can't do this!" Jace yelled, across the Council table. Much to everyone's surprise.

" . . . Jace. We can and we are. We need you in London and Clary is needed in Rome. There is a gathering of Minions in Rome and we need her to open up the Minions hide out. But we need you to help the London Institute against the demon attacks that have been plaguing it."

"But I haven't seen my wife for three months. No, I intend on staying here _with _Clary for a bit. I miss spending time with her, I need to stop for a bit."

"Jace, we are at _war _with Valentine. We can't continually let people just have a holiday off to spend it with loved ones. We need you in London. And that is final."

Jace thumped his hands down onto the table and stalked away. Clary scowled at the Council member and followed Jace out of the room. She caught up with him as he stalked towards their room.

"Jace . . . Jace! Wait!"

Jace spun round and grabbed her shoulders. He stared down in to her eyes and said, "Clary in the last six months, how much time have we spent together?"

She sighed. "About a week. Look Jace I know it's difficult, and it's certainly not fair. But you can't blame it on the Council. It's Valentine's fault, and we have to stop him. Right?"

" . . . Yeah, you're right. But I just want to spend more time with you. I love you, and I hate being away from you. Those last three months in Shanghai were hell without you. I need you there at night to sleep right, I hate waking up to find the other side of my bed cold and empty." He rested his forehead against hers. "I need you, Clary. Without you I'm nothing."

"Shhh, I'm only going to be in Rome for a few days then I'll come to London. I'll been in your bed again and you can snuggle into me at night. I'll be able to smooth down your hair and hum you to sleep, yeah? I'll kiss you until you run out of breath. I'll be there for you to cuddle if you have a nightmare." She grinned at him.

"I do NOT have nightmares!"

"Oh? Then why is it I wake up to find you holding me and rocking back and forth?"

" . . . Don't tell anyone, please."

"I won't . . . if you tell me what the nightmare is about."

"Hmmf. I don't really want to . . . hmmf ok. Umm, well, most of the time it's Valentine. He and Sebastian have got you, and I can hear you screaming. I can hear you; it's so loud, like right next to me. But I can't get to you, you're screaming and screaming but I can't help you. It frightens me so much, that I'm so weak. So helpless. I want to help you so badly, but I can't. I-" Jace choked on his words and wrapped his arms tight around Clary. Pulling her to his chest.

She slid her arms around him and held him close. Pressing kisses to his chest, and then running her hand through his hair. "Come on let's go to bed hun. We'll work out what's happening tomorrow, yeah?"

Clary tugged him towards their room and he followed obediently. She sat him down on their bed and started pulling off his boots, throwing them to one side. She unbuttoned his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders and pulling his arms through the holes. Clary cupped his cheek and ran her thumb along his cheek bone as she started unbuttoning his jeans, tugging them off while he raised his eyebrows at her. She then removed his socks and got him to lie down on the bed. As she moved away and started stripping off her own clothes; she tugged off her shirt and jeans and discarded them in a corner of the room with Jace's, Jace pulled the covers out from under him and curled up beneath them. Clary unhooked her bra and slid off her knickers. She plucked her pajamas out of a drawer in the chest of drawers on the other side of the room and slipped them on.

Clary turned back to the bed to find Jace all curled up and she smiled to herself. He looked so sweet and vulnerable. She wanted to always look after him. Even though he was the stronger one, the protector as it were. He was physically strong but he needed her emotionally. He always said that she was the centre of his universe. His anchor to the world. She smiled and slipped under the covers with him, curling around him. He twisted round and pulled her close to him. Wrapping his arms around her and kissed her forehead. He hummed quietly as Clary drifted into blissful sleep.

-Fucking Time Jump Line-

Clary woke screaming, trying to push away the phantom hands that clawed at her. She found herself not in the demon nest she thought she was in, but rather alone in bed. With no Jace lying next to her. She was instantly wary and reached for the seraph blade that she always kept hidden under her pillow. Her hands only found the softness of the cloth and no cold of a weapon. She eased herself out of the bed and hunted through her top drawer of the chest of drawers for the knife kept there. Again her fingers never found the reassuring cold of metal.

Clary inched her way towards the door of their room and looked at the drape that usually covered it. It was torn and had blood splattered on it. As she moved closer to the exit she stepped in a patch of wetness on the floor and looked down. She lifted her foot and found it stained red. There were pools of blood splattered on the floor of the room. She looked back at the bed and stared in horror.

Jace's side was torn and covered in blood. There was a smear that led from his side of the bed to the door. Clary stared and reeled back in terror. Backing into the wall behind her, backing into something soft and fleshy that dripped. She twisted round, falling to the ground. Landing on her bum and the heels of her hands. Her shirt drooped into a nearby pool of blood and began to stain. Clary screamed at the gruesome sight before her. Alec was nailed to the wall, his chest slit open and his throat in tatters. Blood dripped from his wounds and lumps of flesh thumped on to the floor. But the worst was his eyes. They were gone. Empty sockets stared at her, red oozing out of them. She glanced down and saw that what was left of his eyeballs was half submerged in the pool of blood that gathered beneath him. Clary picked herself up and stumbled out of the room.

The corridor was littered with bodies. Some recognizable. Izzy, Simon, Maryse, her mother and Luke curled around each other. Even Max was there. They stared at her with lifeless, glassy eyes. Accusing her. Max's voice leaked into her mind. _Why didn't you help us Clary? It's your fault we're dead . . . Your fault._

Clary ran down the corridor, tripping over bodies, severed limbs and heads alike. Slipping in the rivers of blood that flowed down the corridors, lapping at Clary's bare feet. Staining her jeans. She burst into the main conference room, with all the maps at the back. More bodies blocking her way in. Robert was hung by a piece of wire over the door. Clary had to push his dead form out of the way to make it into the hall.

Sebastian was crouched in one corner of the room, leering at her. His cruel laugh hurt her as he raised his arm and pointed to the centre of the room.

Valentine stood in the middle of the room, a black sword in one hand. Jace's neck in the other. He was grinning as he squeezed the life out of his adoptive son. Jace was struggling, clawing at Valentine's hand. Desperately trying to breathe in. Valentine laughed and drew Jace close to whisper in his ear. Jace's eyes widened and his gaze flickered across to Clary. He tried to warn her. Mouthing at her to run, as Valentine plunged the sword into Jace's chest. Jace coughed and blood ran down from the corner of his mouth and splattered on to Valentine's clean shirt. He dropped Jace and he fell to the ground, on his knees. His hands fluttering at the wound in his chest which was now dripping, blood staining his shirt. Jace looked at Clary once, surprise etched on his face before collapsing. He lay still on the cold ground. Never to move again.

Clary was still frozen. Silently sobbing and pleading for this all not to be true. For this not to be happening. No, Jace . . . not Jace.

Suddenly Valentine was in front of her and wrapping his fingers around her throat. Choking her. He laughed at her and Sebastian appeared at his side, joining in the mocking chorus. Sebastian drew his knife and pressed it to the outside of her arm. He carved a rune into her skin whilst she screamed in pain. The rune was a jagged spiral with dots and disjointed lines jutting from it. He leaned in and whispered into her ear;

"It means suffering, sister. You'll forever be cursed for your stupidity and naivety. It's quite beautiful really, isn't it? I made it just for you, sister. We did all this-" he gestured around them at the piles of dead. "For you, sister. This is all your fault."

He grinned at her, moved back and started laughing again. Whilst Valentine tightened his hold on her, causing her to cough and gag, and brought her closer. Like he had done with Jace.

"Do you know he tried to bargain for your life? He begged me to spare you. He said he'd do anything to save you. I asked if he would die for you, and he immediately said yes. He died for you, Clarissa. He would have given up anything to keep you safe, yet you squander it. I gave you a chance to run. You could have left, survived. For him. But you chose to throw away his final gift to you. He gave you life and you're throwing it away. Such a waste."

He leaned even closer and hissed in her ear. "He died loving you. Even though he knew that this is all your fault. He died loving you, even though he knew that all his friends and family are dead because of you. He loved you and gave you everything, daughter. And you are so stupid and dumb that you threw it all back in his face. You never deserved his love. He deserved ten times better than you, yet he settled for you, a stupid, selfish, little bitch. You deserve to die." And with that he plunged the sword into her stomach, twisting it and then yanked it back out.

Clary opened her mouth, but no words came out. A soundless scream was etched on her face as Valentine let go of her. She sank to the ground and crumpled. Her father and brother stood over her as blood ran out of her. It poured out of her stomach, gushed out of her mouth and leaked down her chin. Dripping off the side of her face.

Valentine leaned in once more, stooping right down next to her ear to whisper something to her. "Time to wake up, Clarissa. It's time to die." He laughed again.

Clary sat up in bed and screamed.

**Right, summary of the bloody bit. It was a dream. None of it was real, which means that Jace, Alec Izzy, everyone is still alive. Except Max. He's still dead, I'm sorry. Basically Clary ran around the Institute finding the bodies of her friends and family, watched Jace be murdered by Valentine and then Sebastian carved a rune on to her shoulder. Then Valentine stabbed her and whispered to her to wake up. If you read the last two paragraphs up there, like the one starting with 'Valentine leaned in . . .' and the one below it you'll get the whole wake up thing with no blood. It will get happier in the next chapter, sorry guys.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Umm enjoy?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments, I just like to play with them :D**

Clary screamed and sat up in bed.

Jace fumbled in bed, still half asleep and then figured out what had happened. He pulled her into a tight hug and started smoothing down her hair.

"Shhh . . . its ok, hun. Tell me what happened, yeah? It'll make you feel better."

Clary sniffed and then said, "You were dead . . . Oh God Jace! It was horrible! I watched . . . Valentine, he and Sebastian were here! In the Institute . . . Valentine . . . he strangled you and- and stabbed you . . . right through the chest . . . You were the last one alive . . . Iz, Si, Alec-"

Clary cut off there and spun round to face the wall which Alec had been nailed to before- _No, not before . . . in my nightmare . . . it wasn't real, only a dream._

"Clary? Are you alright?"

"Yeah . . . I just- it was so real . . . I honestly thought that you were dead . . . that I was dying."

"I will never let that happen." Jace hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. Jace went back to stroking her hair, loving the beautiful scent that wafted from it. He loved her. He couldn't bear the thought of her being harmed, physically or mentally; it hurt him to see her so upset and vulnerable.

He held her close whilst she cried, rocking her back to sleep, curling her into him, still stroking her hair. Clary fell asleep, with her arms still locked around his neck and her face buried into his chest. Jace gently unwound her hands and laid her on the bed next to him, he shifted down into the bed and pulled Clary closer to him, tugging the covers up and around them.

-Time Jump Line-

Jace kissed Clary's forehead. "Hurry back to me, firebug."

Clary smiled at him and pulled him into a warm hug. "Always, my Jace, my Angel."

Jace ducked his head into Clary's shoulder, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. Clary felt his tears soaking through her t-shirt. She stroked his back and cuddled him close. "I'll be home soon, home in your arms."

Clary stepped back, away from Jace. She smiled one last time at him before stepping through the portal behind her and vanished. Magnus and Alec nodded at Jace, and Alec wordlessly passed Jace a tissue before taking the Warlock's hand and walked through the portal.

Jace let the emotion on his face drain away to leave nothing but a mask, as he whipped his tears away from his eyes. Another Warlock walked forward and started muttering in front of the portal, the surface of which flickered and shifted slightly.

Then Thomas stepped forward. The Clave member was barely twenty, yet he was one of the wisest people Jace knew, knowing exactly how to answer Jace without annoying him or disagreeing with him- even when he was- and how to deal with arguments and the like. He spoke as if he'd already lived a life time, had a lifetimes worth of experience, but also a lifetimes worth of compassion and love.

He nodded at Jace and stepped through the new portal and Jace followed, after smiling once at Luke, who was staying behind.

Jace felt the normal nausea of a locator portal and then a jump occurred, pushing him away from where it had taken Thomas. Jace cursed as he was spat out directly over the River Thames. He had time to pinch his nose before he hit the frigid waters, tumbling in the inky black waters. Jace surfaced and was instantly in a battle of currents. They pulled him every way, tugging his arms in different directions and then submerged him again, forcing him under the surface, trying to drown him. Jace kicked up and broke through again, just to be tugged back under. This continued until the river suddenly hit an area of calm, where the river didn't jerk him about. In this small period of tranquillity, Jace quickly swam over to the nearest bank, only to find it a sheer face of bricks. Jace couldn't get any purchase for him to use to climb up on the slippery wall, all the while he kept being washed down river.

The current was strong and it was difficult for Jace to stop himself from being cracked against the wall with great force, bruising his shoulder. He looked ahead and saw a bridge coming up, and beside it a ladder that led up to street level. Jace started swimming towards it, trying to flow with the water rather than fighting against it.

Jace grabbed at the ladder and began hauling himself up it, wincing at the soreness in his shoulder. He paused at the side of the river to check his weapons and to quickly use his stele to heal himself. He stowed away the tool and set off at a run towards where he knew the London Institute lay- where Thomas should have been sent. He flew past mundanes, who stared at him, and cursed himself for putting on a glamour rune before setting through the portal; but it was supposed to only be a few steps away from the doors of the Institute. He was soaking wet and clothed in his black hunting gear, with his silver sword strapped across his back. He wouldn't be surprised if one of the mundane policemen tried to arrest him.

Jace decided then it was probably safer to travel by rooftop, with glamour on. He darted into a dark alley and pulled out his stele again. After finishing the rune he quickly scaled the side of the building, using the drain pipe and window ledges to help him. Once up he started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, still making his way to the Institute.

A few blocks away and Jace could hear the demonic cries. He recognised the twang of bows firing arrows down into the seething mass in the courtyard. Jace bounded towards a bowman, who was also on the rooftop. He looked up, ready to attack, and then sheathed his sword when he saw it was Jace.

"What happened?"

"Ambush on your friend there-" He pointed at Thomas, who was dancing around, his sword gleaming in the moonlight; Jace was relieved to see him still up and fighting "-and we came out to help. They just keep coming! You kill one and another takes its place! We can't win!"

"Ah! But now you have the Clave's secret weapon!"

"What?"

"Me of course!" And with that Jace jumped backwards off the rooftop, flipping so that he would land on his feet and unsheathed his sword mid-air.

He landed in the middle of the thickest patch of demons and sliced at the nearest one. It shrieked and started to turn round before Jace cut it in half, making it vanish. The demons closest backed away and formed a black, writhing circle around him. They grunted and growled at him, some spat and took mock swipes at him, but none ever came within Jace's killing distance. When Jace started towards the edge, in any direction, the circle shifted with him, always keeping him at its centre.

Jace was getting extremely frustrated when there was a _caw_ from the skies. Jace glanced up and shifted his fighting stance, warily looking up. A bird-like demon was hurtling towards him, claws outstretched, beak wide open to revel vicious teeth.

It was about five metres above the ground when a werewolf barrelled into it, knocking it to the ground before the wolf crushed the demon's skull with its powerful jaws.

The demons, which had been forming the circle scattered, turning straight into the waiting downworlders and Shadow hunters. Jace nodded his thanks to the werewolf before launching himself at the nearest demon, stabbing the foul smelling thing through the back with his sword. He yanked it out and moved towards the next one. _It's going to be a long night . . . _

-Time Jump Line-

Clary crouched in the alley, Alec behind her, and glanced at the alley across from her to see if the Go signal had been given. The Clave member shook his head and backed into the gloom.

The building across from them, the target building, was a rundown hotel on the outskirts of Rome. It was a hideous thing, all grey concrete with garish green window frames, boarded up from the inside. The door was long gone and now only a gaping hole was left in its place. There was however a barrier over it, invisible but still there, that stopped any Clave members and Mundanes from entering the building; which is what they needed Clary for. To take down the barrier and get them in. The roof of the building was littered with holes and missing or broken slates and most of the drainpipes were missing. Little streams of water ran down the outside, a horrible trickle of brown, gritty water that pooled on the pavement, before running on to the road.

Clary huffed and sat back on the heels of her feet, trying to think about something worthwhile to talk about with Alec to pass the time. "How are things between you and Mags?"

"Huh?" Alec looked quite puzzled.

"I was just wondering."

"Oh I didn't mean to be rude! I just . . . don't understand- Oh you're that bored aren't you?"

"It was the first thing I could think of . . . If you don't want to-"

"No. It's cool. I just don't normally."

"Oh."

". . . What is it that you wanted to know?"

"Umm . . . I dunno . . . Is everything alright between you two? Izzy seems quite convinced that you're not happy together."

Alec paused before he answered. ". . . I hate him never being there, you know? I'm Jace's parabatai, so I have to fight with him, I'd kinda be screwed if I didn't, but I miss Magnus when I'm away from him. I hate not being able to sleep with him . . . Wait that sounded wrong I meant-"

"I get it. You miss sharing a bed with him. Cuddling into him at night . . . kissing him goodnight, waking up with him in the morning."

"Yeah . . . I'm guessing that it's the same for you and Jace?"

"Yeah . . . But it's easier for us too. Me and Jace are married . . . You and Mags . . . aren't." She cut off there and looked away guilty.

"You know the Clave would never approve that."

"I think that the foul-"

"Clary. Don't. Me and Mags have come to terms that we can't get married. We're happy together, we just never spend time toge-" Alec suddenly cut off.

"What?"

"The signal! Look!"

Clary spun and saw that the signal for her to go had indeed been sent. _Time to go to work them_, Clary thought as she pulled out her stele.

-Time Jump Line-

A few hours later and Clary drove her seraph blade through the last demon's head, killing it and making it vanish. She grimaced and whipped some of the grime off of her face with the back of her sleeve, before clipping the blade back on to her belt.

Clary glanced up as a figure strode towards her, and she instinctively flicked her hand down to the thin, fairy blade, that she favoured now. She relaxed when she saw it was Magnus, striding towards her, flicking lumps of charred . . . mass off of his shoulders that Clary really didn't want to look too closely at. He tutted at her when he saw her automatic reaction.

"Really Clary! And here I was thinking you were such a gentle, non-violent soul!"

She grinned at him and walked over to him, rolling her shoulders to loosen the tension there. "Have you heard from London? From Jace?"

"Oh, nice to see you too, Clary! I'm fine by the way."

"Sorry, I do kinda know you're alright you wouldn't be joking with me like this. How is he then? . . . Is Alec ok?"

"Yeah, minor scratch on his shoulder that someone's taking care off. Jace . . . umm . . . honestly I'm not actually sure of the situation, I know there was an accident- Clary!"

Clary's stomach tightened and she set off towards the base point they'd arranged on meeting at after the fight, if all went well. She hurried along a back alley towards it, chewing her lip in worry. _Angel I hope he's ok!_

-Time Jump Line-

Jace screamed in pain as the demon he was fighting sank its jaws deep into his shoulder, ripping at it. Jace could see the blood pooling out of the shattered, mangled mass of what was left of his left shoulder. The sword fell out of his hands and clattered to the ground as the demon reared back, placing its massive front paw on to the wound. Jace screamed again and his vision went red, then black.

**YAY! I love writing this story! It's just buzzing round my head begging to be written and posted up :D sorry about the lateness of my other story, We Belong, I've written it on paper I just haven't typed it up yet :( but I will :D as ever please review I love reading your reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hahaha I left with a cliff hanger! (chuckle) sorry but it was that or the chapter would have been about 5000 words, which I thought was a bit too much, the next few bits go together, so I wanted to keep them together. Sorry guys, but here we are! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mortal Instruments, (sob, sob)**

_Recap- Jace screamed again and his vision went red, then black._

He came round with another scream. He realised after a few moments of struggling, that the hands pushing him down were not of demons or Minion's, they were indeed those of his fellow Shadow hunters and, in fact, his wife. She was speaking now, actually.

"Oh Angel Jace! Hang in there my love . . . it's going to be just fine . . . Shhh . . . I know it hurts."

Jace hadn't realised until she said that, he'd been making an embarrassing whimpering noises. He stopped and arched his back in pain as someone dabbed some liquid onto his shoulder. It hurt like hell. Not the actual shoulder, that felt ice cold and numb, like when you pick up an icicle or frozen object and hold it too long, no it was the rest of his body that felt like it was on fire. He croaked out one word, 'Clary.'

"Shhh, hun . . . I'm here . . . I'm here."

He weakly shook his head and tried to force out another sentence. "My . . . my . . ."

"'Shhh . . . I know, your shoulder hurts, we're getting you to a Warlock now, hun. To properly clean and heal the wound . . . I'm sorry hun, but there are no steles here, none! The demons specifically targeted those. They're all destroyed, save for a couple. They're getting so horribly sneaky!"

Jace shook his head again and spit out, between coughing up blood, "Fire . . . my body . . . feels like I'm burning . . . poison-" Jace coughed up more stuff, but this time it was black.

Clary gasped and started yelling things at the surrounding people, but Jace lost his hold on the world again and slipped back into the blackness.

-Time Jump Line-

Clary sat by Jace's bedside, clutching his hand, praying to the Angel that her husband would be ok.

He had now been unconscious for three hours. One London Warlock had started to heal Jace, and then Magnus pitched in and poured all his strength into it. Alec stayed in Rome and Clary knew that Magnus would be heading back soon as well.

She very gently reached up and smoothed his hair down, brushing a stray stand out of his eyes. He looked so peaceful now, so untroubled. The permanent scowl that he'd taken to wearing around everyone but her was gone; his face was smooth and care free. Clary could only wish that he'd look like that more often.

She remembered the day that Jace had proposed to her.

_It had been one of the good days of the time, before the New York Institute went underground, and there had only been one Minion/demon attack that day. It had been raining all day which meant that the ground had been slippy, which was bad with all the ground fighting. Alec and several other brilliant archers had taken up good positions on the surrounding roofs and were bringing down Minions and demons left, right and centre. Clary thought that they might not have won if they'd not had that plan. Or at least not have lasted until the werewolves piled in. They set about clawing and tearing and ripping apart any demon or Minion within reach._

_In the midst of all this fighting was Clary, her back to Izzy as they struggled to fight off two massive wolf-like demons. Clary's one knocked her down and pinned her, as Izzy's was suddenly filled with arrows. The beast roared and staggered back and Izzy took the chance to stab it through the chest with a seraph blade. All the while Clary was struggling to wiggle her way out of her demon's grip. It laughed a deep, throaty chuckle at her and was about to lunge down and sink it's jaws into her when a blade protruded from its throat. The demon made a sickening squelch before vanishing._

_Jace was standing there grinning like a maniac at her. He reached forward and pulled her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. He started a strange, circling movement with her, one hand taking hers the other on her waist. It took a few seconds for Clary to realise that they were dancing. Clary pulled them to a stop and Jace pouted at her when she just stared at him._

"_Love, your killing the mood."_

"_So are the demons trying to kill us, Jace."_

"_Meh," he shrugged at her and pulled her flush against his body, "Can't blame a guy for trying to be romantic, now can you?"_

"_I bloody well can when he's trying to get us both killed!"_

"_I'm not trying to get us killed. Don't speak." Clary scowled at him before he continued , "I have something I need to ask you, my love."_

"_And, pray, what would that be?"_

"_Clarissa Fairchild, will you marry me?"_

_Clary spluttered, "You can't be serious."_

"_I'm very serious. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you-"_

"_That's not going to be very long if you don't start getting your head into gear and realise we're in the middle of a fight!"_

"_Angel, woman! I've just confessed my unending love for you and you won't even look at me!"_

_Clary realised that she hadn't even glanced at him since she'd dismissed his proposal as Jace mucking about. Now she looked at him and looked into the light of his eyes. He looked completely serious. "Jace . . . I- I don't know what to say . . ."_

"_Say yes. Say you love me just as much, that you want to spend the rest of your life with me."_

_Clary stopped and thought about it. She did love him, she did want to spend the rest of her life with him, but was she ready to be married? She was only 17 at the time. But she did love him so. He meant the world to her. So why not? Yeah, she was young, but Valentine was trying to kill them all, he could succeed any day. Wouldn't she want to die, if she had to, with Jace? Wouldn't she want to die married to him, to have that special moment with Jace, even if it was their last one. To have one last adventure together? She loved him. He loved her. "Yes."_

"_Really?"_

"_No, I like to tease men because I can, of course I mean it!"_

_Jace pulled her close again and kissed her deeply, running his tongue along hers. "Angel, I love you Clary." He grinned at her._

A tear slid down Clary's face at the memory and she dipped her head down, pressed her cheek into Jace's hand. "Oh, Jace. Jace . . . Come back to me, my Angel, I need you."

Jace remained unresponsive.

-Time Jump Line-

Jace sat up awkwardly in bed and looked around the empty room.

He was lying on a plain bed in a concrete room which had a window to the right of the bed and a door on the left. Another door was opposite the bed. Jace peered at the window and saw that it wasn't actually a window, it was just a hole in the wall with an image pasted behind it. _What the . . ._

Then Jace thought, he must be in the Institute, it was underground so it couldn't have real windows.

"Clary?" He swung his legs over the side of the bed and winced. His shoulder hurt like hell. He looked at it and saw it covered in bandages. He pealed one back and saw scars running across it mixed in with Iratzes. _Angel . . . Must have really hurt my shoulder for it to still be in such bad shape._

Jace stood up shakily and moved to the table at the other side of the room, just below the fake window. On it lay his sword, harness and knives. But no shirt of any kind for him to wear. He only had some flannel pyjama bottoms on with no top or socks or shoes on. _Shit_. He quickly strapped on his sword and belted on his knives.

He slunk out of the hospital-like room and began to slowly make his way down the corridor. He was fairly certain this was the Institute, but he wanted to be sure. He heard voices up ahead and quickly crouched in a shadowy corner. The two men never noticed him and kept up their conversation.

"- bet Valentine's going to be pissed at that."

"You're telling me! I don't want to think about how angry he'd be at who ever mucked up! You know-" The guards turned a corner and went out of earshot. _Damn._

Jace went back to creeping along the corridor, careful to make sure there was no one in the rooms he passed that could see him. _Where the fuck am I?_ A shudder went through him as he considered the possibility that he was in the bowls of Valentine's hideout. _I have to be careful. His hideout could well be underground like the Institute. I need to find a way out. I got to work out if Thomas is alright. Angel. I don't even know if Clary's ok!_

This thought spurred him on as he prowled forward. He came to a door at the end of the corridor. He pressed his ear against it straining to hear what was going on behind.

"-I don't know! I just don't! One minute he was fine, the next . . . I'm sorry, but I was preoccupied." The voice cut off and Jace realised with a jolt that it was Thomas. Jace had never heard Thomas raise his voice before. He'd always been so calm. _I hope-_ Jace's thoughts cut off at the sound of the next voice.

"Stop treating him like a prisoner you're interrogating!" Clary said. "He's done nothing wrong! He tried to be there for Jace, but it's not like Jace, but it's not like Jace makes that an easy job for anyone!"

"You manage fairly well."

"Ha! I gave up running round after him-" Clary cut off as Jace pushed open the door. "Jace! What you-" She was cut off again by Jace grabbing hold of her and pulling her into a long kiss.

"She doesn't run after me anymore because apparently it makes me more interested in her or something." He said when he came up for air. Clary gaped at him and smacked him over the back of the head.

"You- You ungrateful, selfish- hey, don't you-" Clary squealed and pushed on his chest, trying to get out of the new kiss Jace had pulled her into.

"I love you, firebug."

"I hate you!" Everyone laughed at them.

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for sticking with this story and please don't give up on me yet! Please review, please? I love reading your reviews guys :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys :D just realised, after careful planning, that this story is going to be a long one :/ I personally think it's a good thing, but if you don't like long fanfics, perhaps this isn't one for you. I have already written part of the middle (simple because I needed to get it out of my head to continue with the relevant bit) and I guessed that it's going to be at least 20 chapters away :s Yeah . . . when I started this story I didn't think it was going to be too long, but like more than 20 chapters, but I believe, if I haven't screwed up with guesstimating the bigness of events then I think it is going to be long :) Please don't leave me though! I am trying to type it up as fast as possible and send it to my Beta so you guys don't have to wait. So my beloved readers, please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: For anyone who doesn't quite get it yet I don't bloody well own the Mortal Instruments!**

Clary was curled up against Jace's body, tracing random patterns and circles along his naked form.

"Will you stop that! It tickles!"

"Aww is little Jacey ticklish? Well then, we'd better test that theory!" She started tickling his stomach and, when he twisted to get away from her, she wrapped her legs round his waist and pulled him back against her, still tickling him mercilessly along his ribs and sides.

"Ah! Stop! Please- Clary!"

"Do you submit?"

"No! I can't! AH! Don't keep tickling me!"

"Why? You didn't give in!"

"I can't! You know my pride would never allow it! AHHHH! Woman! Stop it!"

Clary was giggling now whilst they rolled around on the bed, her still firmly clamped on to his back, tickling him. Jace was panting now, trying to pull her off without being too rough, but he really wanted her to stop tickling him. _Fuck it, she brought it on herself!_ Jace rolled them off the bed and on to the floor, trying to get it so that he didn't land on Clary, but she didn't land on him. Clary, on the other hand, was having none of that and twisted them son that Jace clunked into the ground chest first.

"Oof!" Jace was winded and couldn't push himself up.

Clary took advantage off his momentary pause and pinned his arms to the floor with her hands, still with her legs wrapped around his torso, with her hands, before leaning in and whispering in his ear, "Do you submit?"

Jace went rigid beneath her, but didn't answer. Clary licked the shell of his ear with her tongue, flicking it every so often into his ear, and gently rocked herself against his back. Jace groaned beneath her, and thrashed desperately trying to free himself.

"Firebug! Please! Oh Angel! Please!"

"Do you submit?" Clary whispered sexily into his ear.

"Yes! Angel! Clary- please!"

She stopped and rolled on to her side, taking him with her, laughing. She hugged him close to her, her legs still wrapped around him and he leaned back into her, and started to rub circles softly along her long legs. He caught hold of one of her hands- which had been stroking his cheek- and pressed his lips to it. "I do love you more than anything else in this world, you know that right?" He murmured in to her hand

"Yeah, I guess, love." Clary grinned at him and pressed her lips to the top of his head. "I love you too, Jace."

The young couple lay in each other's arms, happy and content, and oblivious to the rune that burned on both of their arms.

-Time Jump Line-

Magnus frowned at the disappearing shape of the portal before him, worried about Clary. She was really upset about Jace's condition, and what's more, Magnus couldn't do anything about it, which really annoyed him. Jace shouldn't have been so hard to heal. An Iratze or two and some rest should have healed him perfectly. There was definitely something wrong there, Magnus could feel it in his gut. Even with the lack of steles, a quick burst of magic should have cleared the whole thing up, but it hadn't. It had taken two highly skilled Warlocks and three hours to patch him up, and even then he'll still need to rest to heal fully. _It should have been easy. It shouldn't have been so bad. It was like something was stopping the healing. And then he started screaming._ Magnus shuddered. He had never heard Jace scream before. He had been in agony. What was worse was Clary's reaction to the noise. She had been horrified and nearly broke down into tears there and then. She had had a private cry on Magnus' shoulder later, but that was away from Jace, where he could see her. Magnus could help but imagine what it would be like for him if that happened to Alec. _I really don't want to think about it. It's bad enough watching Jace be hurt, but Alec . . . I don't know how Clary could be so strong._

He shook his head and moved towards the safe building the Clave had set up in, along the road from him. He grinned when he saw Alec crouching in the shadows round the door way, waiting for him.

"You miss me, love?"

Alec stood and grinned at him, reaching out to take his hand. He then pulled him inside, out of the open, and away from any potential danger. "Is Jace going to be alright?" Alec asked as they walked along the corridors of the building, subconsciously heading for their room.

Magnus shook his head and then quickly amended at Alec's horrified face, "Love! It's ok! He'll heal!" Magnus took Alec's other hand and squeezed, looking into his eyes. "He'll heal, it's just . . ."

"What? It's just what, Magnus? What's wrong?"

"Well, it shouldn't have been so difficult to heal him. We got rid of all the demon poison in him before healing his shoulder and even then it was difficult! I don't understand why. It should have been fairly straight forward, would have required a lot of energy, yes, but simple. The damage was just demon poison and a busted shoulder. Easy, not complicated, like a limb missing or stomach gouged open. Should have been simple." Magnus shook his head again. They had reached their bedroom and they went and sat together on one side of the bed. Magnus put his arm around Alec's shoulder and hugged him close. "I can't imagine that happening to you. I can't bear the thought. Clary's face when she saw what had happened to Jace- I just couldn't take to be in that position. Promise me you'll be careful?"

"I promise. I will do everything I can to come back to you every time, Magnus."

"Thank you. It's just . . . why was it so difficult? Why did it take two highly skilled Warlocks to fix one busted shoulder?"

"He'll heal right?"

"Yeah."

"So . . . he's going to be fine, it's just annoying you that it was so hard for you to physically heal him?" Alec grinned at his boyfriend.

" . . . Shut up."

"You know you love me really."

Magnus leaned in and kissed Alec, effectively shutting him up. He wound his arms around the other man's waist and pulled him against his body. Alec melted against him and wrapped his arms around Magnus' neck, groaning slightly into the kiss. They pulled back from each other after a few minutes and Magnus pulled Alec into a warm hug, stroking his hair affectionately. "Yeah, I do love you."

-Time Jump Line-

Magnus woke slowly, his arms wrapped around Alec, curled up around him. He buried his face into Alec's ruffled hair, breathing in his warm, comforting smell. They were tucked up in their bed together. Most people thought they had sex every night they got the chance, but most nights they just stay up together and talk or watch a movie or something. They just loved to be together- it didn't have to be physical all the time, just comfort. _I wonder if it's the same for Jace and Clary. _Magnus thought. _Oh wait, it's Jace. What am I thinking; he'll demand sex every second. God how does Clary walk if they fuck every night? _Magnus chuckled softly and cuddled Alec closer to him gently. _Hmmm . . . Shall ask her next time I see her . . . If I remember . . . _

He drifted off back into the land of sleep.

-Time Jump Line-

Alec was woken up by a harsh knocking sound. He started twisting towards it, only to find himself caught in Magnus' arms. He wiggled in an attempt to loosen them, only to have them tighten around him and Magnus moaned into his ear. Alec groaned in frustration when he heard the knocking again and started pushing Magnus off him. Magnus rolled away from Alec when he hit him on the forehead (something Alec felt kinda guilty about- he hit him rather hard), and curled up on the bed, mumbling something.

Alec rolled off the bed, wearing only his boxers- no shirt, no trousers, not even any socks. He stooped to pick up a pair of jeans that were lying discarded on the floor, and quickly shoved them on and moved towards the door. "I'm coming!" He yelled as the knocking resounded again. Alec flung open the door to reveal a scruffily dressed Clave messenger. His black hunting trousers were torn around the knees and on his left thigh there were claw marks that had ripped right through the material, and Alec could see red lines running along the man's skin. Man wasn't really an appropriate term for the person stood in front of Alec. His t-shirt looked three or four sizes too big for him and it hung off his body limply. His face was streaked with dirt and a sticky black substance that Alec really didn't want to know about. He was out of breath, like he had run to the room and looked very flustered. "What?"

"Sir. The Clave has requested your presence and expert opinion at their meeting. You are also to bring the Warlock."

"The Warlock has a name." Alec was annoyed that this scruffy low-life boy treated him, a fellow Shadow hunter, with the upmost respect, but treated Magnus, a Downworlder, like trash.

"Yes Sir. Sorry Sir."

Alec sighed. He would need to overcome these sorts of people if he wanted his idea to work. "Where is the Clave meeting?"

"It's in the Library Sir."

"Thank you." And with that Alec shut the door in his face. Magnus was sat up in bed, one eyebrow raised at him.

"Are you alright, hun?" Magnus was looking sideways at him. "You're not usually this snappy with people." He went on to explain.

" . . . I hate the way they treat you! You have done amazing things for us! Without you, we would have never had underground Institutes so easily. Without you it would take us weeks to get anywhere by travelling by human means and not being detected by Minions or demons! Without you we would have lost the war a long time ago. . . It's not like this in New York, there everyone is equal, and it's because we kept that Institute going and everyone lives in it. There's nothing like that here. Everyone is divided."

"You know, you might be on to something there, blue eyes. If we could get an Institute running here, we could make life so much easier."

"We should propose the idea at the meeting."

"We can try, love."

-Time Jump Line-

A few hours later and Magnus was bored out of his skull. _Shadow hunters! They take years to decide anything! _The Clave was currently debating whether to investigate a lead of another Minion meeting, this one much less guarded than before. _Bloody hell! Go for it! It's a steal!_

"I would like to hear what the High Warlock Magnus Bane has to say."

Magnus glanced up at the Councillor that had spoken, before standing up and saying; "I think that if the source is legitimate, as I am sure the council can vouch for, then we should go for it. It's a golden opportunity."

"And that is your final decision?"

"It is." Magnus sat back down.

"Then I propose that we put it to the table for a vote. Agreed?" He turned to his fellow council members, who all nodded.

The vote was cast with all twenty Shadow hunters present voting, but Magnus and the other Warlock present were not allowed to vote, despite being requested to be present as advisers. Alec was annoyed at it, but kept his mouth shut in order to make sure he could be taken seriously with his and Magnus' idea.

The vote was cast with the result of 17 for and 3 against- the three being two elderly council members and a wide-eyed local Shadow hunter that everyone found difficult to get along with, as he doesn't speak much to anyone else and was particularly jumpy and cowardly. Most Shadow hunters dismissed him as a disgrace to their way of life as he rarely looked out for anyone but himself. Also, most Shadow hunters were coming round to the idea that Downworlders were allies not pests, whilst this man, believed that Downworlders were scum, and constantly stated such at meetings. He was horrible to Magnus, and at every meeting would suggest to the council, that Downworlders should not be allowed into the meetings. Including saying things about how they should throw Magnus and the other Warlock, Jeffery, out on to the streets and not allow them to stay with the Shadow hunters.

The head council member, who had spoken to Magnus before, stood up and began to speak. "That's that, then. Right, I would then-"

"May I open an idea to the table?" Alec piped in, much to everyone's surprise.

**Thank you guys for sticking with me, I love writing this story so much, I have, by request, started trying out some Sizzy parts, that will, I think, appear in the next chapter, if not the end of this . . . idea :) Please review, I love reading them, and if you want something, but don't want everyone else to know about it, like in the reviews, please message me and I will try my best :D But please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Right. Hey guys. Umm . . . just so you know, my original plan for this story was for it to mainly follow Clary and Jace, with some Magnus and Alec, so follows four different people's perspectives, two couples. But, by popular demand, I might just include some Simon and Izzy (i.e. people are requesting it, well I say requesting :D). Also this is M rated for sex- which I intend there to be more of- between Clary and Jace and Magnus and Alec. And if I do decide that I like writing Sizzy enough to write more chapters from their point of view, I will probably include sex for them too, just to keep you guys in the loop. Also my beta is away at the moment, so please excuse any little mistakes in the next few chapters, I am trying my best. Now on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I really want to own the Mortal Instruments. If Cassandra Claire wants to donate the legal rights to me, she's more than welcome to.**

Izzy woke up with the smell of cotton up her nose. She cracked her eye open a tad and immediately regretted it; harsh light was streaming in through a window to the left of her bed. Izzy sighed contently and snuggled deeply into the duvet tighter around her with ease, it was vaguely registered somewhere in her brain that that shouldn't happen. Izzy smiled to herself and gently tickled her fingers down the nape of her neck, her skin soft and smooth, thinking about last night's dream . . .

_She and Simon were curled up on the beach together, naked, spooning one another. Simon was playing with her fingers, gently toying with them. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and tightened the grip of his other arm that was wrapped around her waist. _

_Izzy twisted round to look at the Vampire she loved. He wasn't the scrawny teenager she first met when they were 16. He looked stronger, leaner now. _Huh, guess vampires do change a little._ He was muscular now, with toned, but still slim arms that were so good at holding her close, making her feel so secure all the time. His pale, defined chest shone in the moonlight and Izzy ached to run her fingers across it. He shifted slightly in the sand and with both arms pulled Izzy towards him. She stared up at his face, straight into his eyes, half mesmerised._

_Simon closed his eyes and lent in, resting her forehead on Izzy's, humming softly. Izzy smiled and wrapped her arms around Simon's neck, loosing herself in the song . . . _

Izzy smiled at the dream and sighed again; she was happy.

-Time Jump Line-

A few hours later and Izzy drifted awake. She drew the covers tighter around herself, and again found she could do so with relative ease. Izzy sat up and looked about her room. She was in the hotel room she and Simon had rented in a small hotel on the outskirts of Oxford- near London, but far enough away as well. Izzy was sick of spending all her time in Institutes, so Simon had booked them in this place for a couple of nights, just to wind down and have some proper quality time together. Izzy was so happy that he'd done that- she'd forgotten how romantic and sweet Simon could be. There was rarely an opportune time for it with them having to constantly sneak around, trying to avoid Valentine. Romance was a luxury they just couldn't afford at the moment.

The only problem, at the moment, was Simon was nowhere to be seen. Izzy slipped out of their bed and padded over to the bathroom door. It was locked. She leaned her head in to listen. There were muffled noises, but Izzy couldn't make out anything properly. She stepped back from the door and fingered the hem of the black negligee she was wearing, unsure of what to do. She decided.

"Simon? Are you in there, hun?" She reached out and lightly tapped the door with her knuckles. There was a scuffling noise and what sounded like a quick, startled movement. Then Simon spoke up.

"Yeah . . . Umm . . ." He trailed off and Izzy heard him sniff.

"Are you alright in there, Simon?"

"Umm . . . Yeah . . . I'll be out in a second."

Izzy was having done of it. "Let me in Si." She said it softly, not demanding, she wanted to comfort him, not scare him.

Simon sat on the toilet (lid closed) with his head in his hands. He didn't want to let Izzy in and tell her about his nightmares- he felt weak enough as it is- but he couldn't see a way of hiding them from Izzy without upsetting or offending her. He loved her, but he felt like so much was trying to push them apart- including these nightmares and his own, horrible, thoughts that he had sometimes.

There was now a little voice in his head that kept coming up with were more and more reasons why he and Izzy shouldn't be together. Its favourite at the moment, was that he was a vampire- so won't grow old- where as Izzy is aging every single day. He didn't know what to do. Simon loved Izzy more than anything else in the world, the only thing that came remotely close was his friendship with Clary. But how could he do that to her? Stay with her, never aging or looking more than 16-17, whilst she aged and matured, turning from young to old. Maybe she wouldn't want to be with him anymore when she got to, like, 25.

Simon breathing increased and his hands bawled into fists in his lap. He couldn't bear to think about not being with Izzy. He needed her.

As Simon's thoughts raced, Izzy tapped on the door again. "Simon? . . . Please let me in." She called, a little worried and desperate now.

Simon stood up and unlocked the door, revealing Izzy stood there in just her night time gear. He took her in one step at a time. First her bare feet and long legs. Then her waist and arms, which were folded across her chest. Then her shoulders and neck, before, finally, her face. She looked worried and apprehensive. Simon stepped forward and pulled her into a long, warm hug, kissing the top of her head as he did so. Izzy wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest, inhaling deeply to take in Simon Smell.

Izzy pulled back after a few moments and slowly smiled at him. Then she pulled him over to the bed and sat down next to him on it.

"Do you have something you wanna talk to me about, Si?"

Simon then made the snap decision not to tell Izzy about his nightmares. Instead he'd just tell her about the problems he kept seeing with their future. "Yeah . . . well, yes and no. I don't want to upset you by telling you . . . this stuff, but I kinda have to- and need to."

"I don't understand," Izzy looked confused. "Are you talking about us? Like . . . you don't want . . . an us?"

"No! I do! More than anything else in the world. It's just . . . well, sometimes I think that, maybe, we don't belong together- like physically. You're a Shadow hunter, you're mortal, and you'll age. I'm none of those things. Is it fair on you to be with a guy that will never be able to age with you? I love you Izzy, and I want us to be together forever, but I don't see how we could do that."

Izzy sat there for a while- whilst Simon looked at her anxiously- before answering. "I'm ready. Like to commit to you, Si. I love you. I mean that and I'm ready to say that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care how- I just do." She paused and fingered the hem of her clothes before continuing. "I have thought about this before . . . yeah I saw what I'm guessing you see. Or rather can't see. Me, like, 80 with you still at 16. I don't think that'll work, you know?"

"Then what do we do? If I could give up my immortality, I would do it without hesitation, Iz, but I don't know how."

"That wasn't the idea I had."

"Huh?"

"Think, Si. If you can't become mortal, then I become immortal with you."

". . . You want me to turn you into a vampire?" When she nodded, Simon continued; "No! Iz! I can't do that to you! You'll have to give up so much, too much! Like the whole Shadow hunter stuff. You'll have to drink blood. No, I can't do that."

"Si-"

"No! I'm not considering that an option."

"But Si-"

"No!" he looked really angry. Izzy very rarely ever saw Simon get angry, he was always so calm and collected. "No. I can't do that, Iz. Please, just accept that."

Izzy looked away from him, embarrassed by the hurt her face was showing. The traitorous tears slid down her cheeks as Izzy tried to hide them with her hair, by hanging her head and letting it flow over her shoulder and shield her face. Simon didn't fall for it, though.

"Iz? What's wrong, babies?"

Izzy took a moment to compose herself, so that her voice wouldn't break when speaking. "Why would you not want me to be a vampire with you? Do you . . . not want to spend forever with me, or something?"

Simon looked at her face, which was now turned towards him, and smiled softly. "Isabelle Lightwood. I love you more than anything else in this world, and forever with you is a dream come true. But I can't force all that other stuff that goes with being a vampire on to you."

"You wouldn't be forcing me. I'm choosing this."

"No Izzy. Please. I can't. Ok? Drop the subject. I hate arguing with you, love."

"Hmmf." Izzy scowled but remained silent.

Simon reached for her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Iz. We have such little time together. Can we please enjoy these few days together before we get catapulted back into this whole war mess. I just want to spend some happy time with you."

" . . . Ok. We have this time together, make love and forget about the war, ok? Then, when we go back, we'll talk about this, yeah?"

"Iz-"

"Shhh. We'll argue about it another time."

"Hmm . . . ok." Simon softly pressed his lips to Izzy's head and tightened his hug on her, comforting her.

Izzy wrapped her arms around Simon's neck and lifted her head to kiss him. Simon traced his tongue along her bottom lip, making Izzy moan slightly. She lifted her body and pressed it to his, feeling the contours of his body against hers. Simon ran his hands down her back and cupped her bottom, pulling her up and onto him so that she was straddling his hips. He groaned at the contact and thrust his hips against hers lazily. Izzy intertwined her fingers into his hair and pushed her whole body up against his, her negligee riding up to show her lacy underwear. Both of them were panting hard, desperately trying to get closer to each other.

Simon broke the kiss and pulled Izzy into a close hug, still breathing hard. "So what we doing today, my love? Do you wanna go for a swim?"

"Hmmm . . . together?"

"Of course, babies. This weekend is all about us being together. Together and it's supposed to be romantic as well. Only the best for my Iz."

Izzy cuddled into him and pressed her lips to his chin. "You're perfect, you know that, my love?"

"Hmmm . . . I try to be, for you babies."

"You succeed."

Izzy giggled and slid out of Simon's arms. She walked across their room and knelt in front of her suitcase which looked about three times bigger than Simon's one, that was sat next to it. She unzipped it and started to rummage through it, searching for something. Simon sat on the bed, quite amused at the amount of clothes and shoes going flying over Izzy's shoulder. He was, however, flabbergasted when a hairdryer flew across the room- luckily hitting the jumpers and t-shirts that had piled up against the wall. Then, with the triumphant cry of "Aha!", Izzy pulled out her bikini.

Izzy turned and grinned manically at him and waved the blue halter neck bikini at him. She then flipped open Simon's case and it only took a few seconds to find his swimming trunks, and then she threw them at him.

Simon smiled as Izzy swept gracefully into the bathroom to get changed into the swimming gear. Simon chuckled and began to strip off his clothes and stepped into his trunks. He then hunted down his sandals from where they'd been discarded under the bed and threw on a light, white shirt.

Izzy emerged then from the bathroom with a short skirt on and a halter neck top over her bikini. She smiled at him and slipped her hands into his and pulled him up, of the bed and tugged him towards the door, smiling at him seductively.

They walked through the hotel, to the swimming pool, hand in hand, swinging their arms and chatting to each other. When they got to the pool, they found that it was empty, with no one in the pool or in the gym that over looked it.

Izzy turned to Simon and winked mischievously. She quickly shed her clothes and dived into the pool, with just her bikini on. Simon stood and watched for a few minutes before turning and barricading the door with a chair, to give them more privacy. He dumped his sandals and shirt, and scooped up Izzy's clothes, putting them onto one of the deck chairs at the side of the pool.

Simon sat at the edge of the pool and dipped his legs in to the pool, finding the water pleasantly warm. He went back to watching Izzy, who was gracefully swimming and diving around in the deeper end of the pool, at the far end from Simon. He watched Izzy for a few more minutes then started daydreaming, looking through the skylight. He thought then what it would be like to be human with Izzy, have a family with her. _Do I want that, though? I want to stay with Izzy, growing old- or at least up- would be amazing, but do I really want kids? A family? As a vampire can I even have a family? Alec told me once, I remember, that we could, if we didn't use protection. But do I want one? Would our child grow as Izzy does, or be immortal like me? Damn this is complicated. I really need to talk to Alec or Jace about this kinda stuff._

Simon was pulled out of his thoughts by something wet hitting his face. Simon recoiled at once and pulled the thing off his face. He looked down at it in his hands and realised that it was the top of her bikini. He looked up and saw Izzy grinning at him, floating only two or three metres away from him now, her breasts on full display for him. He licked his lips and gazed hungrily at her, as she slid off her bottoms. She flung them at him as well, they landed in his lap as well. Simon's breath increased and he started to get excited.

Simon threw aside Izzy's bikini and slipped into the water. He waded towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her naked form towards his body. He kissed her, roughly shoving his tongue into her mouth. One of his hands went to tangle its self into his hair, the other on her lower back, pulling her towards him.

Izzy could feel a bulge pressing against her stomach. She hitched her legs up around Simon's waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. She lifted herself up and pressed herself against his body, grinding against his hips. Simon groaned against her mouth, and thrust himself up against her. Izzy moaned and twisted her fingers into Simon's hair, their tongues still dancing around each other.

Simon leaned forwards and ran his hands up and down her back, nipping at her bottom lip. Izzy was just trying to slip off Simon's trunks when there was a banging at the door. Simon slipped on the tiled floor of the pool and they both went crashing into the water.

"Oi!" One of the hotel staff and shoved the door open and squeezed through the gap that was available to him. Simon and Izzy surfaced and Simon moved in front of Izzy, hiding her from the view of the man. "You can't do that here! It's a family pool, if you want to- to . . . do that, go to your room!"

Simon had gone a little pink, and the man turned his back on the couple- to let Izzy get her swimming gear back on- but waited to make sure they left. Izzy quickly threw her bikini back on and slipped out of the water, Simon following. She stepped into her skirt, but then put on Simon's shirt. Simon raised his eyebrows at her and Izzy stuck her tongue out at him. They gathered the rest of their stuff and, with sheepish smiles at the staff member, and headed back up to their room.

As they walked in Simon turned and said to Izzy, "Well, that went well."

**Hey guys, I would really appreciate if you do review for this chapter and tell me what you think. I have done this because someone requested, but I would like to know how you think it went. I've tried my best to make it as little like Twilight as possible but am finding it difficult with so many of the same issues being raised, like the whole thing of Simon being immortal and Izzy not. I found I quite enjoyed writing Sizzy so, if you guys like it, I will continue doing this :D Would also like to hear your opinion on the idea of doing little bits (like not full chapters but sections of chapters) of other people's perspectives, just occasionally, like say Luke's or something. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry guys. Sometimes (i.e. when I remember I write fanfiction) I hate life. It gets in the way of everything! Including . . . well life! Hmmf. I've just got a new boyfriend who I love to pieces and am having so much fun with at the moment. Plus I've been ill and on holiday, not a good combination, so have had very little time to write this. Right, sorry about splitting this debate, this is a carry on from chapter 5, with Alec suggesting ideas. I couldn't get it all in one chapter, it just didn't work. So here you are guys.**

**Disclaimer: She hasn't rang yet to tell me she's donating the Mortal Instruments to me yet, so I still don't own them :D**

_Flashback._

_"May I open an idea to the table?" Alec piped in, much to everyone's surprise._

"Go ahead, Mr. Lightwood."

"As most of the Council members know, I have travelled round the world talking to different groups of Shadow hunters and trying to help them solve their demon or Minion problems. Jace and Clary have been doing the same. I then did some research into the other groups who don't have anywhere close to as many problems, who haven't called out for help. And I can definitively say that it is down to the Downworlders. The successful camps integrate Downworlders into them, they don't exclude them, they treat them as equals. The camps that we have to constantly go to and help are the ones that push out the Warlocks, the Fairies, the Vampires, and the Werewolves. These Shadowhunters think that they're better than the Downworlders, that they don't need their help, when in fact they need their help now more than ever. The Shadow hunters of the London Institute have a different problem. The Downworlders aren't there to help them. There are two werewolf packs that live in the area that help when they can, but they do not live in the Institute. They are separate from it. This means that in an emergency they can't get there anywhere near as fast, sometimes they don't even hear about attacks. This is the issue I want to solve and here is the solution that I would like to purpose to put into effect. I think that we should integrate the Downworlders into the system, make them part of the solution, instead of part of the problem, not something that we need to manage, or something that gets in the way. We need the Downworlders if we want to win this war. I propose that we try this with Rome or Paris. We set up another Institute, built and maintained by both Shadow hunters and Downworlders." Alec stopped and looked at the faces of his fellow Shadow hunters. What he saw unnerved him.

All of them were staring at him like he had gone mad. One of the Italian Shadow hunters, the man who had cast an opposing vote with the two elderly council members and one of the Shadow hunters at the London Institute, spoke up.

"You want us to work with those beasts?"

"They are not beasts, they are people. Allies." Alec scowled at the Shadow hunter who had spoken. "We need Warlocks for portals. Without them it would take days, if not weeks, for us to get anywhere without Valentine finding us. The werewolves are an unstoppable force that is capable of destroying anything in their path. The vampires are brilliant at sneaking and slipping into Minion bases and retrieving valuable information. And all the Minions are terrified by the fairies. They appear, they destroy, then they vanish. You cannot argue with the fact that they are an invaluable asset that we can't afford to tarnish."

"You expect us, the great Shadow hunters, to work with trash, like vampires?"

"How dare you call these-" Alec was cut off by a council member raising his hand to silence him.

"Thank you, Mr. Lightwood. Mr. Rangehole, would you care to explain your inappropriate outburst?" The council member looked sternly at the Italian Shadow hunter.

The Shadow hunter- a Sirius Rangehole- stood up and walked to the head of the table, where the council was seated and turned to face the collective.

"For years I've lived and hunted out of the London Institute, for a good 30 years, and I have never asked or needed help from Downworlders. I have never sunk so low to ask for their help. We have managed to hunt and control demons all on our own. We have never needed them to help us. They have only ever got in the way, made our lives more difficult. We have to police them and make sure they don't fuck up our work. They ruin everything."

There was silence ringing round the room. In this Alec stood up.

"May I speak, council?"

"You may, Mr. Lightwood."

"I cannot stand here and deny that Downworlders have caused us problems. They have, but we in turn cause them problems. We force them to conform to a set of rules that we define. We don't allow them to do certain practices that we consider wrong, yet we do as we please, they do not set rules on us. Downworlders are not the same as us, but they are extremely similar. We are not a perfect set of beings that have a divine right to rule over, what you called, lesser beings. We have automatically assumed that position of authority, but I believe that we should share it. We can only speak for the Shadow hunters. We cannot stand here and say that we fully understand Downworlders, I cannot fathom how Mr. Bane does anything that he does, so how can I hope to police him? I think that it takes a Downworlder to police a Downworlder."

"By that do you mean that you don't know how to control your pet?"

"How dare you!" Alec yelled at him and turned to the council for support.

One of the council members stood and spoke up. "That is an inappropriate way to refer to a High Warlock, Mr. Rangehole. You will treat our guest with respect, the Council personally invited him and so you will treat him as you would a high member of the Clave."

Alec nodded his thanks to her, and then smiled at Magnus, who was sitting in his seat next to Alec's. "My thanks to the Council. I am well aware that not everyone shares my view. As I'm sure you all know, Magnus is my partner, which most people do not approve of, I know, and thus makes me biased in this issue, in favor of the Downworlders. But I believe that we can use this to our advantage. Magnus is a highly influential Downworlder, they would follow him, and this idea is both of ours, so he wants to help. We can turn this war around with their help. We could win! There are thousands of them, possibly millions of them, they have the numbers to turn this war around, and that's not even taking into account their abilities. They have amazing gifts that exceed anything that we can do. Why not use that to our advantage? Why not use that to crush Valentine?" Alec looked round at the gathered Shadow hunters.

"So let me get this straight," Rangehole spoke up, "you want us to work with these . . . Downworlders"- he almost spat the word at Alec- "to win the war. But what happens then, assuming the war is won?"

Alec looked at him for a few moments before answering. "We continue to work with them to destroy demons."

"You mean destroy, virtually, their own kind?"

"Downworlders are not demons. They have been created with great connections and influence by demons and Angels, but then so were we; Jonathan Shadow hunter first begged the Angel Raziel to mix his blood with his so he could destroy demons and help mundanes."

There were a few murmurs of agreement before the female council member, who had spoken up for Alec before, stood up and said; "Thank you, both Mr. Lightwood and Mr. Rangehole. The council will consider everything that has been said in our decision."

Everyone who wasn't already standing stood, and Sirius moved to stand behind his original chair, as the council got up and left through a door at the back of the room.

Alec led the other people out of the room through another door and then waited for Magnus to come out. Magnus and the other Warlock, Jeffery, came out last, as were the rules of the council meeting . Jeffery smiled at Alec, before setting off towards the front door of the house. Alec looked quizzically after him before turning to Magnus.

"He doesn't stay because he hated being treated like filth by the Shadow hunters." Magnus explained.

Alec smiled and took his hand. "Well, we're about to change that, now aren't we?"

"I hope so, hun. But I wouldn't-" He was cut off as Sirius spoke over him.

"Ha! You actually believe that you have a chance of making this idea work? Ha! Oh, that's a good one!" Sirius grinned at them toothily before continuing. "The council will never allow scum like Downworlders to form an Institute with us. They will see these bottom dwellers for what they really are. Worthless. Pests. Trash." He laughed again and turned to walk away from them.

What he then didn't see was Alec's fist soaring through the air towards him. He sensed something seconds before it landed and he turned his head to see what. Alec's fist connected with his nose a moment later and it snapped with a loud, satisfying crack. Blood immediately started pouring out of his nose and he yelled, hoping backwards away from Alec.

Several Shadow hunters ran towards them after hearing the commotion. Sirius was still yelling through his hands that were cupped to his face.

"That bastard! He broke my nose! He broke my nose!"

The other Shadow hunters, after understanding what had happened, laughed and put away the weapons they had drawn out of instinct. Some even congratulated him.

"Nice, throw there, squirt," one of the larger ones said, clapping his hand on Alec's shoulder. "Been wanting to do that myself for quite a while."

Alec grinned at him then walked away with Magnus, Sirius glaring at them the whole time. They walked comfortably in silence until they got to their room where Magnus stopped and said, "Three seconds, my love. I just need to go do something."

Alec looked puzzled for a second, before smiling and kissed Magnus lightly on the cheek. "Ok, hun. I'm just going to stay here. Maybe read or something." He smiled again and slipped through the door into their room.

Magnus smiled and turned away, heading off to find Jeffery.

-Time Jump-

Clary sighed and rolled over in bed, expecting to feel the warm resistance of her husband. What she actually found was a cold side of the bed where Jace should have been.

Clary sat up, a little confused and saw no Jace anywhere in their room. She sighed again, this time much more grumpily, and tugged the covers back, pulling herself out of bed. Clothes were thrown on and a glass of water was downed before she dared look in the mirror.

Her hair was a horrific tangled mess that strongly resembled something like a rat's nest. Clary grumbled to herself as she dragged a brush through her hair, once again gaining a respectable look. Clary flicked her fingers at the make-up that was sat in a box on top of one of the tables, thinking how Isabelle would cringe at the thought of her going out with no make-up on, and set off to find Jace.

Clary though she must have wondered the corridors for half an hour before someone told her that they'd just seen him heading down to the training rooms. Clary began walking in that direction, diverting slightly to pass by the kitchen to pick up an apple. She passed many fellow Shadow hunters and Downworlders alike, and smiled to herself at what the war had given them. Unity. For the most part the war had brought them all together and made them look passed their differences to work together against Valentine.

Clary reached the training room and saw a group of people huddled outside. Clary glanced at them before trying to make her way passed them.

"Wait! Hey, you're Carissa Lightwood, aren't you?" One man spoke up, reaching out and taking hold of her wrist as Clary passed them.

Clary nodded and snatched her wrist out of the man's grasp.

"Your husband is in there. You think you could get him to leave? He's trashing the place and we can't train in there with him."

Clary's brow furrowed and she pushed the door open and stepped inside the training room.

The room was a large circular room, with one flat wall with mirrors running down it. The roof was domed and several bars were bracketed in to allow people to practice acrobatic skills. Usually three punch bags were set up in one area and weights in the other. The floor in the center of the room was covered in mats to allow for combat training.

But now, as Clary looked in on it, the place was a mess. The bars had been ripped out of the walls leaving crumbling holes. The mats had been thrown and torn apart all over the room and two of the punch bags had been beaten to the ground. Jace was standing with his back to Clary, destroying the last punch bag.

He froze as he heard the door click behind her and yelled across the room, not even bothering to check who it was, "I thought I told you all to get out or I'd tare all of you to pieces!"

"Jace?" Clary's voice shook slightly as she took in what he'd done, and how angry he was.

Jace spun round at the sound of her voice then looked away, shame burning his throat. "Clary . . . I- I'm sorry," he stammered out.

Clary's expression softened and she walked over, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Tell me what's wrong."

Jace sighed. "I don't know. I'm not sleeping well, I'm hardly ever hungry. I just . . . I dunno. I just feel so angry all the time, and I don't want you to see me like this so I came here." He gestured round the room, never once looking her in the eye.

Clary slipped her hand into his and tugged him across the room. "Come on, we'll go back to our room and curl up together in bed. You love it when we do that. I'll even throw in a free back rub." She grinned at him and he returned it, following her across the trashed room.

"Clary?"

"Yeah?"

"What we going to do about the training room?"

Clary shrugged. "Meh. One from the angry mob outside will sort it out." She grinned again and leaned in to kiss him.

**I am so sorry guys for the wait my brain has not been working properly all summer. I have the next couple of chapters practically ready though so I'm hoping to get those up in the next week as well :) sorry my faithful followers.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, so sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but have been so stuck with this chapter. You have no idea how many redrafts of this bit I have lying around my house on paper. Most now chewed up by the dog. But after this chapter it gets much better. I have a lovely time line set up and it all happily turning out chapters :D Please forgive me :) Plus am having real issues with my boyfriend. He's being a real asshole to me right now, I'm fairly sure he's just using me :( I explain it all in my authors note at the bottom, please read.**

Alec sat bolt upright in bed, panting heavily. He slowly clenched and unclenched his fists by his side, trying to calm himself down. _Not another one!_ Alec had been getting bad dreams for over a month now. It had been so difficult to keep it from Magnus, but finally he'd worked it out, from Alec's bloodshot eyes and his generally tiredness. Alec could still remember the horrible shouting match they'd had, only a few days ago.

"_Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"_

_Alec sighed. "And watch you get worried and flustered over something you can't help with? Why would I do that?"_

"_You idiot!" Magnus had yelled at him. "The Clave told us to report anything like this happening, because so many people are complaining of this!"_

_Alec's faced burned. "They're just nightmares. They don't mean anything; they just happen to people sometimes, Mags."_

"_Not like this! Not this often! You've been having these for months!"_

_Alec finally lost his cool. "And you want to know why?! You want to know what I see every time I fall asleep?! I see you lying in a pool of your own blood, Jace and Clary butchered in a corner still holding each other one last time. Izzy lying broken in some alley way with Simon in pieces around her! I have to relive you dying almost every night and it's killing me! But do you know why I keep it to myself?! You want to know why I haven't told you?!" Alec took a deep breath, his hands shaking by his sides. "It's because I can't bear for you to be going through that as well! I couldn't bear for you to have to feel this pain too!"_

_And with that Alec had stormed out of their room._

Alec felt guilty about that, and the consequences, but he knew this was what was best for Magnus just now. That was why he was staying in a separate room from Magnus. He hadn't seen Magnus for about three days. But each night he saw him lying in red again.

-Time Jump- **Please read authors note.**

Magnus lay in his bed, a single tear running down his cheek. The council had voted for them to go ahead with the raid of the new Minion place, but Magnus wanted to push the date back now. In a few hours time they would run headfirst into a fight, and he was afraid. Afraid that Alec was going to do something stupid, or that because of his nightmares he won't be able to look after himself properly. He was so scared.

-Time Line- **Please read authors note.**

Alec lay awake on his bed, his breath hitching every few seconds. A sob raked through him before he renched the bed covers back and threw on clothes. Alec quickly, but silently, slunk down the deserted corridors to wear Magnus' room was. He paused before cracking the door open a few inches and slipped inside. The room was pitch black and Alec was afraid to look at the bed. Then he was flung onto the bed by something behind him.

He hit the bed with great force and all the breath whooshed out of him. He spun round on the bed and found Magnus glaring at him from by the door way, sparks running through his hair, casting a ghostly light on his face. He had fire spouting out of one hand and raised it threatening towards Alec.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Mags! It's me! It's Alec!"

Magnus paused and stared at the sprawled man on his bed. "Alec?"

"Yeah! It's me . . . err . . . Can the fire be put away now?"

Magnus put out the flames and flicked on the table lamp. "What the hell were you doing sneaking into my room at-" he glanced at the alarm clock next to the table lamp- "three in the morning?"

Alec sat up on the bed and stared at his feet. Magnus sat down next to him (a good foot away Alec noticed with unhappily) and waited for him to speak. Alec opened his mouth several times but nothing came out, he just sat there gloomily staring at his bear, and now cold, feet praying that Magnus would say something. To Alec's dismay Magnus just sat there and waited for him, not giving him any breaks.

"I . . . I- I had . . . another nightmare." Alec managed to stammer out.

Magnus sighed. "What about?"

"You . . . You- were- were dead and . . . and . . . well dying and I had to come and check that you actually weren't. I always did that when I had a horrible on like that before."

Magnus took pity on the young man. "Alec, why is it that you went and found your own room then?"

Alec sighed. "I didn't want you to see how frequently I was getting them."

"What do you mean?"

"I have these nightmares almost every night now, Mags. I just . . . I don't know how to stop them, you know?"

Magnus looked at him. "Do you want to talk about it? See if that helps?"

"No, I just want your support through this, hun. I just need you to be there for me. I'll stop hiding them from you, and can you stand by me?" Alec looked up at Magnus' face, right into his eyes.

Magnus nodded. "Of course, now let's get some sleep." And with that Magnus pulled Alec down on to the bed and under the covers. The couple cuddled down together safe and sound in each other's arms. Magnus fell asleep with his arms around the other man's shoulders.

-Time Jump- **Please read authors note.**

Magnus' arm twitched in his sleep as heat ran up through his veins, burning him. He sleepily shifted his arm and cracked opened his eyes. He blearily stared at a shape that was inked on to the side of Alec's shoulder. Magnus looked at in shock as Alec frowned in his sleep and the rune on his arm turned bright red. Then Alec whimpered and the rune flared up really bright, illuminating the room with a sickly red glow.

Magnus shook Alec. "Alec!" He shook again and Alec began to wake up.

"What . . . What's 'appenin'?"

Magnus stared at Alec's arm in horror as the rune that had been bright red slowly faded on his arm. "Your arm! Your arm, quick look!"

Alec sleepily sat up and twisted his shoulder round to look at the side of it, but saw nothing. "Mags? What is it?"

Magnus was shocked, where the blazing rune had once been carved into Alec's arm, there was nothing but smooth skin. "Were . . . were you just having a nightmare?"

Alec nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was just, like, beginning. You woke me up before the- the bad bit." Alec looked down at his feet. "What did you see?"

"I- I thought I saw a rune on your arm. Like not a normal rune, it was red."

"Red?" Alec looked really confused. "Magnus, you do know that that's imposs-"

"I know that! But I know what I saw too! I don't . . . understand."

Alec's brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah . . . must- I dunno. I'll- I'll think on it in the morning."

Alec looked at Magnus for a few moments longer before nodding and settling back down into his lovers arms.

Magnus shook his head a little and cuddled back into Alec's back.

-Time Jump- **Please read authors note.**

Magnus slowly slipped on the skin tight black top and a pair of ripped jeans. Alec was at the other side of the room putting his hunting gear on. Magnus paused to watch him slowly strap everything into place, buckling up the thick boots on his legs, then clipping his knives and sephera blade on to his hip belt, before finally securing his bow and arrows across his back. Just before Alec clicked the bow into place he ran a finger down it lovingly.

Magnus captured the sight, fearful that it would be the last time he saw Alec truly content.

-Time Jump- **Please read authors note.**

Time slowed. The Minion raised the sword above his head intending to deliver the final blow, a wild cry erupting from his lips. Alec swung his bow round to face the Minion and notched an arrow into it. Everything around Alec was weirdly warped and silent. A Shadow hunter was in mid-pounce to destroy a vicious lizard-like demon that was half way through tearing someone apart. The Shadow hunter was trying in vain to save his comrade, but Alec could see that they were already gone. Large chunks of that person were flying through the air, red, undistinguishable masses that glistened in the half light.

He drew the bow string and his eyes sharpened, narrowing his field of vision, focussing just on the target. Alec breathed lightly down the string and felt the bow shiver in response. He then loosed the arrow towards the Minion, watching it curve through the air. It passed through all the twisting forms of the moving people and things. Time seemed to speed up as the arrow closed on its target. Alec could see the Minion letting out the wild war cry then the arrow struck him in the eye, blood squelching out and splattering the surrounding objects and people.

The Minion staggered backwards, slightly disappearing from Alec's line of sight, roaring in pain and clutching his eye, the arrow still protruding out of it. Alec ran a few steps forward, dropped to one knee for better balance on the slippery floor, and notched another arrow. This one struck the Minion in the throat. His eye bulged for a second before he collapsed on the floor. Alec paused only for a second before running to help his would be victim.

Magnus was lying in a pool of blood, a swirling mix of his own and demon. Alec crouched down and hoisted him up onto his shoulder, starting to drag him away from the fight. Alec pulled Magnus out of the factory and sat him down leaning against the outside wall.

"Magnus!" Alec was yelling at him, trying to get the Warlock to focus. "Magnus! I have to go back in there. I have to go help the rest of the Clave. You need to stay here, yeah? I need to go help, but you're too wounded, you need to rest and heal." Then Alec tore back into the building.

Magnus sat gasping for a few more seconds before finally moving. He sat up straight and examined the wound on his arm. It looked grotesque, being covered with both red and black blood. The skin smoking slightly from where the demon blood was burning his skin. Magnus flicked his fingers at the arm and the demon blood vanished. His cat eyes focused on the actual wound now, trying to determine the extent of damage done to the arm.

The arm was not that badly injured so Magnus just stopped the bleeding and closed the wound, he would deal with the rest later when Alec's life wasn't in danger. Magnus was a little worried. Alec was nowhere near as happy and joy free as he usually was, and Magnus was starting to get really anxious. If Alec had a bad nightmare right before a big fight it could throw his entire game off, and end up with him dead. And Magnus couldn't bare that to happen.

-Time Jump- **Please read authors note.**

Magnus stood in the middle of the room scanning it for Alec. _Fuck! How did this get so messy so fast?!_

The floor was littered with bodies, some half ripped apart, other's oozing foul liquids and smells as they dissolved in demon blood. Magnus stared glancing at the bodies, begging for Alec not to amongst them. He ducked and weaved amongst the fighting people, trying to spot his boyfriend in all the chaos.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he was dragged backwards out of the room, through the door and out on to the street. He was dumped unceremoniously on to the rough ground and he rolled across it to see who or what had grabbed him.

A group of six Minions stood glaring at him and Magnus instantly paled. If it had been one or two he would have been fine but six? Magnus knew his chances were slimmer than a models waist. _Shit . . . _

The leader stepped forward and snarled slightly at Magnus before speaking. "You piece of shit. It's time for you to die, for all of you to die!"

Magnus stood slowly but said nothing. It hurt to think that this could be his end. That he would never get to see his friends again. Never see how Clary and Jace were getting on. To see them have their happy family. To see Izzy and Simon laughing together. But most of all Alec. Thoughts of him flooded his mind then. Him and Alec walking round Shanghai together, going to low beat restaurants, watching movies curled up together, playing games, sleeping together soundlessly after a night of fun. He would miss every second. Even back when Alec's parents knew nothing of them, when he fought to prove to Alec that there could be a them. The first time he healed him and he was half delirious spouting rubbish was one of his favourite memories.

He watched as the leader drew a long thin sword and levelled at his head. Magnus kept his eyes opened and readied what little magic he had left in him. The leader pulled his arm back to deliver the killing blow and Magnus shot him full of sparks. The effect was instant, the man crumpled with a small whine and his friends cried out in shock.

They stood still for a second before running forwards to attack him. Magnus did his best to keep them back with simple shocks and fire. He was fast running out of energy and the men knew it. Magnus let out one final blast of sparks and turned and ran down one of the alleys, hoping he was heading in the direction of the Clave.

Unfortunately he ran to a dead end in a narrow alleyway. He turned slowly and saw four of the five men had made it after him. They stood staring at him and, after realising he was trapped, started to laugh.

One of them spoke up. "You're dead Warlock!"

Magnus flattened himself against the wall behind him, his breathing heavy. There was a beat of silence before one of the men roared in pain.

An arrow was sticking out of his calf and he sank to one knee, nursing his wound. The other three formed a loose circle round the man, trying to find where the attacker was. Another arrow shot down into their group and thumped into one of their shoulder. They started shouting and pointing at one of the roof tops. Two arrows flew up at the assailant and one found its mark, ripping the skin off of Alec's left shoulder. He dropped his bow on the roof and rolled off the low building landing heavily on his feet before drawing a curved half-hand sword from his belt.

The three remaining men charged at him and Alec ducked under the first's swing, slicing him along the ribs, and then engaged the second. Their sword cracked together with a horrid screeching as they slipped slightly along the edges. The first clutched at his ribs for a few moments, flapping pathetically on the floor before collapsing into silence. The third man had clipped the arrow in his shoulder short and, grunting with pain, raised his bow, ready to deliver a fatal blow to Alec as he struggled with the massive Minion.

Magnus ran forwards then and shoved his shoulder into the bow man, causing the arrow to fly off into the sky. They both toppled to the ground and the Minion Alec was fighting pushed Alec back before swinging round to attack Magnus. He raised his sword above his head, snarling. The bowman's eyes widened and he started to shout a word of warning while notching another arrow into bow.

Alec stabbed the Minion through the stomach and he convulsed, spitting blood on to Magnus. The Minion fell forwards on top of Magnus and the bowman lying on the ground released his arrow, catching Alec in the ribs. Alec yelled in pain and dropped his sword, falling to his knees. Magnus shoved the dead Minion off of him, grabbed Alec's fallen sword and plunged it into the bowman's chest.

Magnus had never stabbed anyone before and was shocked to find it was very difficult to force the sword past the Minion's ribs and into his vital organs.

Magnus let go of the sword then and rushed to Alec, who was lying on the ground clutching his side.

"Alec! Alec, oh God, are you ok?"

Alec coughed feebly. "Well, I have an arrow protruding from my ribs, but it's not too deep. My head also hurts."

Magnus tried to calm down. "Right . . . well I need to heal you, but I can't . . . Shit I'm out of magic, I'm sorry love. I can try help you till then but I need time before I can heal you with magic."

Alec nodded and Magnus slid his arms under his shoulders and started to slowly drag him down the corridor and to relative safety.

**Thank you guys for bearing with me, it's been a rough week. And now for me to explain my begging for you to read this. I need your advice. No idea what I'm going to do about my boyfriend situation, I really don't. I feel like he's just using me, but then he says he really cares for me, when we broke up with me (yeah forgot to mention that didn't I? We're dating right now for reference) he cried too, because he said that he really cared about me so he didn't want to hurt me, but it wasn't the right time for us. I could really do with your advice so please review about the story and if you have any advice or suggestions, please I really need them.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, here's the story enjoy! (I'll talk about my problems at the end so if you don't want to read it you don't have to)**

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting these, but unfortunately I don't own any of these wonderful people running about my story.**

Jace slammed his fist into the table. "You're saying we're giving up the search for my _brother_?"

The Clave representative sighed. "Technically, Jace Herondale, Mr Alec Lightwood is not your brother."

Jace's face flushed and Clary hissed in anger before standing up. "You have no right to say that to him! Jace is a Lightwood in all ways." The man flushed slightly and looked around the room; all the other occupants of the room were scowling at him, some shaking their heads in disgust.

One of the elder members of the room stood up. He spoke in a withered voice, but one that commanded respect, one that must be obeyed. "I think that you should leave. Now, before any worse is done."

The Clave representative stood up, bowed low to the older man and left the room in quick haste. The elderly man turned to Jace and softly said, "I am sorry Jace, it's not that we have given up looking for your brother. We don't know where to look anymore. We have scoured everywhere we can think of in Rome, but there has been nothing. We have pleaded with the local Vampire clan but they have fully co-operated, helping us search through all the sewers, they have even lost a few of their own to Minion attacks looking for the Alec and the Warlock, Magnus. We will never give up, but we must move the majority of the search party out of Rome, before Valentine thinks we are massing an army. It's been three weeks Jace."

Jace shook his head, his blond locks whipping across his face. "I can't give up. I owe so much to him. I can't just leave him out there to die."

The old man nodded. "I understand. You may stay here and search for longer. But Jace, the chances are slim that we are going to find them." Jace nodded.

Clary slipped her hand into Jace's and squeezed softly. Jace looked down at her sat next to him and smiled warmly at her. _She'll always stand by me. She'd never desert me, never hurt me._ Jace nodded. "Thank you, Elder. Me, my wife and a few of our friends would like to stay for longer and continue the search." The Elder nodded.

Clary stood then. "We would also like to speak to the leader of the Vampire clan, to express our gratitude towards them for their efforts, and to express our sorrow for their losses."

The Elder nodded approvingly. "You are as wise as you are beautiful, my young one." He smiled softly. "So you balance your husband perfectly."

A few people laughed and Jace shook his head, chuckling. "Thank you again, Elder."

-Time Jump-

Magnus ducked into the alley and scurried along it, glancing over his shoulders every few seconds. He clutched a plastic shopping bag to his chest, filled with assorted tins and packets. Magnus glanced around him once more before ducking into a small house and shuffling down into the basement. The area of Rome he was in was mostly large townhouses but every so often standing down a blackened alley was the shell of the old stables or servants quarters. It was in a crumbling one of these that Magnus had slipped into unseen. One side had collapsed forming a solid barrier between its squatters and the mundane world. The door had gone down with the collapse but one of the windows had been attacked to resemble a makeshift, low door.

Magnus slowly descended down the steps, one at a time, panting slightly. He was exhausted. What little magic he gained from resting he had to use up stealing food and trying to heal Alec more. It was weeks since the attack, but still no help, and no improvements in Alec's condition. Alec had stopped bleeding now, but he still had the arrow head in his ribs, preventing him from properly healing. Magnus longed to remove it from him, but he didn't have enough magic to stop him from bleeding out. And then he would have an open wound that he couldn't clean out any infection. He would kill him, but if he didn't get him help soon he'd never heal properly and would never be able to fight again.

Magnus knelt down next to Alec who was lying on the floor, a light green blanket tucked round him, a screwed up jacket under his head to act as a pillow and strips of cloth wrapped round his arm and shoulder to create a makeshift bandage. His t-shirt had been removed to be ripped into strips of cloth for bandages and his socks were being used for wading round the arrow in his ribs. His eyes were closed and there was a light sheen of sweat on his face and body. His breath was weak and shallow, coming out in short pants. He shuddered and moaned then, and tried to curl on to his side before the pain forced him back and woke him up. He looked around the room with bloodshot eyes.

"Mag . . . nus?"

Magnus placed his hand on his forehead. "I'm here, love. It's ok."

Alec weakly smiled. "I woke up before and you were gone. I was worried." He said gaining strength to his voice.

Magnus nodded. "I was out getting supplies. You needed more bandages and we needed food."

Alec nodded slowly. Then his eyes drifted shut again, the effort of talking having worn him out. Magnus sighed and gently used his sleeve to wipe away the moisture on his forehead. _Please let them find us soon. Oh God's, Clary, Jace where are you?_

-Time Jump-

Jace sat on the end of his bed, gently turning a toy soldier between his fingers. It was the only toy he had had from his childhood and then he'd given it to Max to play with, all those years ago. Then, the night Max had died, he'd been holding it, seeking protection from what had killed him. Izzy had retrieved it before they had prepared Max's tiny little body for the funeral. She had held on to it for weeks, blaming herself for his death, until Clary had found her crying one night with it. Clary had sat with her for hours, holding her and talking to her, making sure she understood that it hadn't been her fault. Then Izzy had given the soldier to Clary to give back to Jace.

_The tiny toy had come full circle_, thought Jace. To everyone else it was just a worn toy, but to Jace it was once a horrible symbol of his childhood, spent as Valentine's son, being shaped by him into a weapon. Now all Jace saw when he looked at it was little Max, his small, frail body going to ashes before he had even had a chance to live, to be a full Shadow hunter.

As he sat there shifting through the memories that haunted him, pressing down at the sides of his mind. He'd already lost one brother, he couldn't lose another. Alec meant a lot to him, he and Isabelle were all the family he had left. _But now I have Clary, she's my new family, the family I get to choose to spend the rest of my life with._ He smiled as fond memories of them together flooded his mind. Their endless snowball fights round central park years ago when they were aloud out and about. Clary, Izzy, Simon, and Magnus ganging up on him and Alec. Clary and him lying on the beach with a picnic, making sand castles and, more importantly to him, making love.

Jace smiled softly and slowly reached across to the side table and set the soldier down facing the door.

"Jace?"

Jace spun round and saw Clary stood leaning against the door frame. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a jungle-leaf pattern wrap. Jace grinned slightly as he looked her up and down, taking in her subtle curves and beautiful shape. He stood up as she walked a few paces into the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled into her neck and pressed kisses up her neck and onto her jaw. She giggled slightly and reached up on her tip toes to kiss his forehead.

Jace sighed happily and scooped her up into his arms and lifted her onto the bed. He curled up on the bed behind her, spooning her from behind. He kissed her head and tightened his grip on Clary. "We'll find them won't we?"

"Of course we will, love. We will find them."

-Time Jump-

Jace finished strapping on his armour and looked over at Thomas, who was twisting and grabbing at some loose straps at the side or his armour, just under his armpit. Jace silently laughed for a few seconds before stepping forwards and doing up the lace for him. Thomas nodded his thanks and in return re-did one of Jace's laces that were already coming undone. Jace grinned at his friend before sliding through the semi-crowded weapons room, looking for his wife.

Clary was stood on the far side of the room, strapping on her favourite sword, the thin fairy sword. She finished pinning on the sword, and then elegantly twirled her hair up into a bun on top of her head. Jace strode over to her and calmly wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the back of her neck.

Clary chuckled softly. "Hello, gorgeous."

"Hmmm are we in a playful mood my little firebug?"

Clary laughed out loud then. "Perhaps later my love, when we have safely found Mags and Alec."

Jace nodded. "I love how you say when and not if. It gives me such confidence that we will find them."

"We will, my love."

They finished getting ready and headed to the portal that the other Warlock, Jeffery, had set up. They stepped through and crouched in the shadows as a group. There were five of them in total; Jace, Clary, Simon, Izzy and Luke. Luke was a last minute addition to their group having just run in with a local were-wolf pack. Simon and Izzy had just got back from Oxford a week or so back and were horrified to find that Magnus and Alec were missing. Izzy blamed herself for her brother going missing, as she kept saying that if she hadn't been on holiday she might have been drafted on to their team and might have been able to save them, to stop this catastrophe from happening. Clary had spent most of the morning consoling her, trying to make her understand that it wasn't her fault, that there was nothing she could have done for them, regardless of whether she had been there or not.

They gave a quick glance round the alley ways before stepping out along the wall, heading for the Nomentano, the last area of Rome that they hadn't checked. Jace was praying this would be the last place, the last mission that they went on. He was tired of failed missions, of false hopes only to find cowering Downworlders hiding in ditches, down sewers and in collapsing buildings, begging for help. They always helped, making sure everybody got back to an Institute, was well fed and happy as they can be. Clary had exhausted herself healing everyone and trying to take care of everyone. Jace was so proud of her, but he knew that she would kill herself if she kept going like that.

They slunk down another alley, heading towards the centre of the district. It used to be, when they had the weight of the Clave behind them, they used to split up into groups of five and would search different sections and meet back up at an allotted time. Now they had to do one section at a time. It took ten times longer to cover any district in Rome, but they couldn't give up. And now they were down to their last district. After this, the Clave had said, there would be no more searches; they needed Jace and Clary elsewhere.

Jace gripped the hilt of his sword as a shadow flitted across the alley entrance, but exhaled when he saw it was only a stray dog, which paused to look at them before shrugging and continuing. They crept out towards the darkened square and Jace stiffened.

Stood in the middle of the square, bathed in the white moon light, was Sebastian. He stood scowling up at the moon, and as if the moon saw him and shied from him, it pulled cloud across to hide herself from his venomous gaze. He stood carefully in the light, as if he was afraid that if he moved too much it would break. Jace was horrified. He wanted to run to him, but also away. He wanted to crush the other boy's head between his boot and the ground, but he couldn't bare the idea of Clary getting mixed up in the fight, and inevitably she would. Jace felt the light pressure of someone resting their hand against his shoulder blade and he slowly looked round.

Clary was looking at him with fearful eyes. She shook her head slowly and silently begged him not to go forward, to let Sebastian pass without incident. Jace struggled with the idea that he had to let him go, that the bastard who murdered his little brother and who was obviously here looking for Alec and Magnus would get to just walk away from him.

But he nodded at her and shank slightly back into her and the shadows to gain more cover. They continued to watch Jace from their relative safety as the light haired boy bent to pick something off the ground. Jace recognised what it was instantly. It was part of an arrow shaft, with a few feathers missing at its rear end. Sebastian gazed at it for a few moments longer before slipping it into his pocket and walking away.

Jace turned to look at the rest of the group. They all looked at him, eyes filled with fear and rage. Only Clary wasn't looking at him, she was staring at the ground, chewing her lip. Jace reached out and gently touched her shoulder, looking at her intently. She looked up and shook her head again and tugged him down the alley, away from where Sebastian had been, a clear indication to Jace that she didn't want him to face Sebastian. Jace sighed slightly and nodded, turning full on and starting to slink back up the alley.

A hand shot out of the darkness behind Jace and ripped him out into the courtyard, leaving it impossible that Sebastian had not spotted them.

The other man was still in the courtyard, but at the far end now. He turned at the commotion and saw Jace sprawled on the ground. Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth, dropping into a crouch effortlessly. Jace risked a glance sideways and regretted it the instant he looked back. Sebastian had seen his little glance and was smiling broadly now; Jace knew that he had figured out that there were others there. Jace slowly stood up and drew his silver sword, preparing to hold him back. Jace knew he wasn't strong enough right now to defeat the other man, but he could at least hold him back long enough for Clary and the others to get away.

Jace turned to the alley and yelled at his wife and friends, who were still frozen in shock; "RUN!"

They all hesitated though, unwilling to lose another member of their family. Jace shook his head. "Go! I can hold him back for a bit. GO!"

Sebastian's cruel laugh rang out across the courtyard, cutting deeply into each of them. "You think you can run from me?! You think you can hide from me?! You fools! I will find you! I will catch you all, one by one." His voce dropped to a low growl and he began to stalk Jace, making it clear he would be the first victim to fall.

Clary made a split second decision. She turned to the others and said; "Go, we'll hold him back." At Simon about to protest, she shook her head. "No, Simon. Go, save your selves. Tell the Clave what's happening, but I can't. He's my husband, I can't leave him."

Izzy nodded slowly, her eyes brimming with tears as she hugged Clary before turning away. Simon pulled her into a tight embrace before following Izzy. Luke looked murderous.

"If your mother knew-"

"Well she doesn't. This is my choice and you would do the same thing for her." Clary pulled Luke into a tight hug and he kissed the top of her head. "We'll be fine, back before you know it." She smiled before turning away from him.

Clary paused for a second, and glanced behind her one last time, but Luke had already vanished into the shadows. She felt helplessly alone. But then she looked out at Jace standing by himself in the middle of the square, prepared to die alone to protect them. She took a deep breath and walked out beside him drawing her sword as she did so.

Jace looked startled and started to yell. "No! Clary! Run! I'm giving you this opper-"

Clary slammed her hand across his mouth, silencing him. He looked at her with eye's alive with violent fire. "When are you going to learn?" She said softly. We're in this together, till death do us part. I'd rather die with you here now, then live a day without you."

Jace sighed and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately one last time.

"How touching." The voice was surprisingly close, causing them to spring apart, raising weapons in defence. Sebastian planted a solid kick in Clary's stomach making her tumble to the ground. Her head struck the ground with some force, her vision swimming black and red with pain.

When Clary's vision returned she could see the dancing forms of Jace and Sebastian in the background, always striking to kill, always missing by millimetres. Clary forced herself up and she saw Jace glance her way and yell a warning to her as he ducked under Sebastian's black sword.

Clary spun and saw a figure behind her; she guessed the one that had thrown Jace into the courtyard. It was a woman, Clary could tell by her figure, but her face was obscured by a silver mask that cut away, leaving one eye visible, the other only had a slit to look through. A hood covered the rest of her face, casting shadows across the little pale skin that was showing. The strange opponent was holding a slim black sword that shimmered in the silver light, painting spots of white on the ground.

Clary waited for her to attack, but nothing came. She just stood there looking at her. Clary spun and dashed to help Jace and was confused to see the woman standing in front of her. The woman cocked her head to one side and settled into a fighting stance.

Clary understood. This woman was here to stop her from helping Jace. Sebastian was good, and could take them both, but only to save his own skin. He wouldn't be able to kill either of them like that. So the woman was here to occupy Clary whilst Sebastian cut down Jace. She glanced across at her husband now, and saw with dismay that he was beginning to get covered in scratches and cuts along his arms.

Sebastian was close to a killing blow.

Clary yelled and charged the woman, which was obviously the last thing she expected. The woman spun out of the way her hood falling down to reveal long billowing white hair. The woman lashed out with her foot but Clary caught it and spun the woman to the ground, before planting her own kick into her ribs, knocking her to the side. Clary rolled up to her feet and lunged at Sebastian.

He roared in pain as her sword slipped under his guard and stabbed him in the ribs. He turned and hit her in the face whilst Jace, seizing his opportunity racked his sword down his back, opening a huge wound from his shoulder to his hip bone. The woman gasped and tackled Jace sending him backwards as Sebastian fell to his knees, whimpering slightly as pain blazed over his body. The woman got to her feet and snarled at them, protecting Sebastian with herself. Her body language was clear that if they moved towards her she would attack, no holding back this time.

Jace scooped up Clary and planted her on her feet as she continued to stare at the snarling woman.

"Clary! Snap out of it! Come on, before he comes round! We have to get out of here!"

Clary shook herself once before getting up and following Jace out of the courtyard and into the endless maze of alleys and townhouses . . .

**Hey guys, hope that isn't too much of a cliff hanger! I really enjoyed writing that actually :) right to my problems. I'd first like to thank everybody for they're wonderful help and suggestions, and I chose to talk it through with him. We're slowly working things out, and hopefully we'll be on the right track soon. I love him, but he just wants to take things slowly at the moment, like start again between us, so that's our little secret. He wouldn't be able to understand or take it that I'm so involved when he feels its hanging by a thread, well a few threads now, we are stitching it all back up now :) he's happy-ish and I'm happy-ish, but I wouldn't have known what to do without ur guys impartial advice. I needed it :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, so trying not to kill everyone, like by that I mean Sebastian and his accomplice. Despite the fact I made her, I kinda don't like her in the way she's being painted just now, even if I am the artist :D it'll make sense in the future my faithful followers! And I love you guys too much to keep you waiting :D**

**Disclaimer: still don't own the characters, not that I wouldn't mind. Even Sebastian is supposed to be a babe even if he is a bit of an asshole :)**

Magnus sat staring out across the night through the window, praying for anything to help them. Alec's condition was worsening and Magnus was beginning to fear the worse. _Alec can't . . . die can he? _ The thought cut through him like a knife, causing cold shivers to course through his veins. He watched the sky and saw a figure running across the rooftops. It was difficult for Magnus to look at, and he realised that the figure was a Shadow hunter as they were wearing glamour.

He squinted at the figure and made out a wavy womanly shape with a hood up and a silver mask. He looked at Alec, chewing his lip slightly. _Should I go look? It could be the Clave looking for us. But it could be Minions looking for us._ Magnus sighed and walked down the stairs to see Alec. He was still feverish, but he was waking up less and less frequently. Magnus knew that he couldn't help him right now; he needed a healing rune and fast.

Magnus sighed, tucked the blanket round his lover a bit tighter and brushed a strand of hair back across his forehead. _Oh hold on love, I'll be back soon._

He stood up and after some deciding he picked up Alec's sword too. He stumbled out into the night and set off towards where he'd seen the Shadow hunter heading.

He slunk as stealthily as possible down alleyways and narrow streets always heading towards the distant warehouses. He thought that if one was running as fast as that woman was, they'd spotted something, so regardless of whether the woman was or wasn't Clave, they were most likely pursuing someone on the opposite side.

Finally he reached an open courtyard, which, to his horror, contained the Clave's worst enemy. Sebastian Morgenstern was dancing round the courtyard parrying and lunging at his opponent, Jace. Magnus stared opened mouth as just behind him, Clary ran at her opponent, the woman he'd seen running across the rooftops. Clary took out the woman with a damn good kick and then lunged, stabbing Sebastian in the ribs. Then Jace caught him across the back. The woman scrambled up to protect Sebastian, and Jace began to drag Clary up and away, in the opposite direction to Magnus.

Magnus cursed his luck and burst into the courtyard and ran towards the disappearing forms of Clary and Jace. Sebastian and the woman looked up in surprise- she had knelt down to heal him- but Magnus ran straight passed them.

He burst into the next opening and saw nothing, Jace and Clary had vanished into the labyrinth that was Rome. He yelled out.

"Clary?! . . . JACE!"

There was a faint rustle from behind one of the bins and Magnus raised the sword, fearing the worse. Then Clary and a bleeding Jace emerged from behind the over filled bins.

"Clary! Oh Jace! You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys!" Magnus walked forward laughing slightly and hugged them. He grinned broadly. "Come on, let's get moving before Sebastian is back on his feet. I have a hidey-hole."

Jace gripped his arm. "Alec? Is he ok?"

Magnus shook his head and heard Clary's sharp intake of breath. "He's in bad shape, needs a healing rune bad, and I'm out of magic."

They nodded. "Which way then?" Clary asked.

"This way." Magnus started heading back in a slightly roundabout way to avoid Sebastian in the courtyard.

-Time Jump-

Izzy lay crying into Simon's shoulder.

"We – We should- sh- have- ha- STAYED!" She howled between sobs.

"Love, they stayed to give us a chance to get away. It was their choice." Simon tried to console her.

"But they're our best friends! They're all the family we have left! I've lost everyone! Max . . . Alec . . . Mags . . . and now Jace and Clary!" She burst into a fresh wave of tears. Simon stroked her shoulder and cuddled her closer.

"Clary wanted to be with the man she loved, Jace, no matter the consequences."

Izzy stopped sobbing and Simon froze. He ran through what he had just said and closed his eyes in frustration.

"How-"

Simon cut her off. "No Izzy! For the last time I don't want to have this conversation now!" He sighed. "Clary and Jace are missing, quite possibly dead at Sebastian's hands. This is not the right time to be talking about _that_."

Izzy sighed and grumbled slightly, but nodded slowly into his chest.

"Come here my love. We'll have a good night's sleep, and then tomorrow we'll tell the Clave what happened and we'll go out to find them. Alive and well, they're probably with Magnus and Alec, yeah? Safe and all together." Simon kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

_Gods, please Clary. Come back. We need you._

-Time Jump-

Clary helped Jace as he slumped against her to get through the doorway of Magnus' temporary home. She looked around slightly puzzled. "Where's Alec?"

Magnus gestured down the stairs. "He's in the basement. Come on then." When Clary didn't move, it was Magnus' turn to be confused. "What's wrong?"

Clary looked at Jace, who was hanging off of Clary's shoulder, barely conscious. "I'd like to heal him up first, if you don't mind. He's half dead now Mags, could you help me?"

Magnus hesitated before nodding and helping her lie Jace down on the floor. Jace groaned slightly and mumbled something. Clary leaned down next to him, gently sweeping hair of his face and whispering sweet things in its ear. She drew Jace's stele from his belt and gently carved the _Iratze _on his arms and then one on his shoulder where Sebastian's wicked blade had caught Jace earlier. He mumbled something and sighed happily as the pain faded. Magnus watched again with interest as the runes that Clary had drawn flared up brightly as she drew them, much brighter than any other Shadow hunter, and much more potent. Jace's eyes fluttered open and he smiled softly when he saw Clary gently stroking the side of his face.

"Firebug . . . We made it." He grinned and laughed quietly, a beautiful look of utter joy flooding over his face. "I thought I'd lost you forever. I thought we were going to die."

Clary leaned in and pressed her lips to his and whispered, "Well, we didn't. You should have more faith in me."

Jace laughed and sat up drawing Clary into a deeper kiss, holding her close to his body, his fingers beginning to knot into her hair-

There was a cough from behind them. "Err . . . really don't want to break up this beautiful moment . . . but, my love, your brother, is dying downstairs and I kind of thought you were here to save him and all, you know just a hunch I got."

Clary slapped Jace's chest still laughing. She stood up and then frowned as Jace started to stand too.

"No, love. You stay up here for a bit. I'll call you down when he's better, k?"

Jace looked crestfallen and seriously worried now. He turned to Magnus. "Is he that bad?" To his horror, Magnus nodded.

Clary slipped down the stairs heading for Alec, Magnus followed after a short pause. Magnus heard Clary's sharp intake of breath and worried how much worse Alec could have got from last time he'd seen him. Clary knelt down and gasped at the wound in Alec's side. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it was infected, that much was clear. The wound was secreting a putrid green-white liquid that made Clary sick just looking at it. He was breathing slowly and his eyes were restlessly moving behind his eye lids, meaning that he wasn't getting any proper rest.

Clary looked up at Magnus, who sagged and thumped to the floor beside her. "I did everything that I could, but it's not enough. I'm all out of magic and I can't help him, Clary. Please tell me you can?"

Clary nodded. "I can, I just need your help too, in a more mundane way. I'm going to draw a rune on him then I need you to pull out that arrow shaft so I can fully heal him, ok?"

"You can heal him?"

"Of course! I can heal over the wound for now then you can get some good rest and work magic on him, yeah? You won't have to keep stemming the blood or worrying, yeah? We'll get some proper meals into you and then everything will be fine. We'll stay here for a few days and then, when you're ready, we'll portal home. Everything's going to be just fine Mags."

Magnus exhaled in relief. "Ok the, let's get to work with the arrow then.

-Time Jump-

Izzy sat bored at the Clave meeting. She, Simon and Luke had told the Clave everything that had happened, and despite being told that she had indeed done the right thing in running away, it didn't make her feel any better. _They could be dead because of me. We turned and ran like cowards, turning our backs on our friends when they needed us the most. I've murdered my best friend. _Izzy knew why she had done it, but she was frightened to tell anyone. For anyone to know what had happened, what had made her turn tail and run. She needed Clary more than ever but Clary wasn't there anymore. _And it's all your fault. _Izzy sobbed once then got up and left the room, much to everyone else's surprise.

She stumbled out into the corridor and turned down one of the Institute corridors. She started blindly running through the maze of underground passages, not concentrating on which way she was going, just wanting to get away. To hide her shame and tears from everyone else. She heard a voice yell out behind her, but she didn't stop. She knew that Simon would try and follow her, but how could he console her, help her, when he was part of the problem? Izzy ran on, turning corners and twists, until, after a few minutes she skidded to a halt. She was stood at a crossroad of two tunnels, but that wasn't what had made her stop.

All the lights had flicked out. She stood in complete darkness, unable to see even her own hand in front of her face. She backed into the wall for security and stayed, flattened against it. She slowed her breathing down, trying to make it as quiet as possible. A tear trickled down her cheek and splashed to the ground.

As it hit one of the lights started flickering nearby. An eerie glow was cast across Izzy as she started to back down the tunnel that she had come down, away from the crossroad, when she thumped into something behind her. She turned round and to her horror saw a solid wall where before there had been a tunnel. She spun again to look for another way out and screamed.

All the tunnels had gone. Walls surrounded her, trapping her deep within the Institute. Izzy screamed again and clawed at the walls with her hands bringing down chunks of the soil on top of her. The flickering light was now above her and gave out a steady light all of a sudden and Izzy looked up.

She regretted it instantly.

There was a huge crack running across the ceiling and as she watched the roof began to cave in on her. She screamed again and crouched down on the ground, earth pouring down on top of her, burying her.

-Time Jump-

Simon heard the scream that ripped through the Institute and he instantly began sprinting through the corridors, heading towards the endless sound. Simon had never heard a more terrifying sound before, and what chilled him to his bones was he recognised the screams. _How could anything make Izzy make that noise?!_ He turned a few corners and stopped. The screaming had stopped, but faintly he could hear some sobbing, echoing softly along the ground.

"IZZY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Simon bellowed down the corridors. He heard a distant shout and ran towards it.

Simon skidded round a corner and nearly tripped over Izzy, who was curled up on the floor crying her heart out. He dropped to one knee beside her.

"Izzy! Oh shit! Babies, come here! Tell me what's wrong." Simon reached out and held her close, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. Izzy sobbed and snuggled into his chest, her crying slowly stopping.

"Is it really you, Si?"

"Yeah, of course it is babies. Don't worry nothing's going to happen now, I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Simon cuddled her and rubbed her arm. "Iz, tell me what happened."

She chocked back a sob and nodded, sitting up slowly, leaning back against the wall. "I don't really know. One minute . . . I was upset but . . . then the next I was tr-trapped . . . underground and the roof started collapsing in on me. I was being buried alive my dirt." She shook herself and rubbed her arms and legs, as if to brush off imaginary soil. She shuddered and rested her head against Simon's shoulder, sniffing occasionally.

Simon put his hand under her chin and lifted it so he could see into her shimmering eyes. "I would never let that happen." He said as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth. She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggling her head into the crook of his shoulder. Simon scooped her up into his arms and began walking back the way he'd come.

He walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence, before Izzy spoke up.

"I love you, Si."

Simon smiled and quickened his pace, hurrying back to their room.

"I love you too, my little Isabelle."

-Time Jump-

Alec grumbled in his sleep and happily sighed, rolling over onto his side, dragging the covers with him. When doing so he revealed his side, which was healed over, though still slightly red. Magnus watched him sleep, happily dozing himself. He'd been watching Alec's arm a lot recently, before he was healed by Clary and now after. He was so relieved to find that despite Alec waking up and saying he'd been having a nightmare, the rune had never shown up on his arm again. Magnus was trying to keep a close watch, but he was fairly sure it was gone for good. He smiled again and scooting himself over to where his boyfriend lay. Magnus wrapped his arm around Alec's waist and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck sighing happily. Everything was going to be fine.

-Time Jump-

Jace sat contently looking out over the Rome skyline. He sighed contently and took a bite out of the apple he was holding, crunching on it as the sun set in the background. He smiled slightly as he thought about how stressful the last few weeks had been and how it would now soon be over. He had his beautiful wife beside him- well not physically, she was away getting food at this point in time- his brother was healing at a remarkable rate and was currently sat down stairs in the basement, having food and a game of cards, laughing merrily.

As Jace watched the shadows grow longer he didn't notice the one shadow that shifted irregularly and took off, slinking behind Jace a few rooftops away to go and report what they had seen.

-Time Jump-

Clary crouched in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. She didn't know why she was being so cautious, they were only mundanes and she had glamour on anyway. They couldn't see her, but she felt like there was something watching her. She could only hope that it wasn't anything more than a human with the Sight or an odd cat.

She slowly walked out, still crouching and began taking fruit from a nearby vendors stall and stowing them in her bag when he wasn't looking. She then shuffled back into the shadows and climbed nimbly up the side of the building she had been crouched next to, and leaped over to the other side of the square, dropping down into another alley. She then slunk up to a meat vendor and carefully took scraps and any other bits of meat she could lay her hands on that the vendor wouldn't notice.

She then started to straighten up and head back to Jace and the others, when she saw something that made her heart freeze.

Sebastian was stood in the middle of the square eating a mango and smiling at the fruit vendor he'd just bought it from. He looked up from saying something to the obviously smitten girl and locked eyes with Clary. He smiled cunningly and spat something to the now confused girl before beginning to slalom his way across the cobbles towards his sister.

Clary turned and fled down the nearest alley way, diving through the narrow lanes and one way roads, desperately trying to lose him in the maze of Rome. As she dropped down a level and flew up another street before running down a flight of stairs leading her further and further away from Magnus' hidey-hole, she heard a roar of frustration.

Sebastian had lost her on the longwinded route round Rome's backstreets. He howled again and Clary took off towards the hidey-hole moving as silently as possible.

-Time Jump-

Jace felt the knife pressed against the back of his neck and stiffened, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

"Don't move." It stated. It sounded like a computer talking, robotic in its sounds.

Jace tried to turn slowly to see its face, but he was roughly shoved back round, a gash appearing in his neck where they had dragged the knife across the skin.

"Don't move."

Jace huffed in frustration. "What do you want?" There was no response. He filled his lungs ready to yell for Magnus or Alec, when the knife was drawn back and the pommel struck him on the back of his head, dizzying him. He slumped to his knees, the painful grip on his shoulders was all that kept him upright. He looked up as a boot appeared in his line of vision. The blood drained out of his face as he looked up at the face of his brother-in-law.

Sebastian grinned. "Hello, Jace."

**Hehehe you have no idea how much I enjoy writing this story, it's actually what keeps me going these days :) a huge thank you to you all again for your wonderful suggestions over my odd boyfriend issues and I hope you guys are right and either way it turns out ok :) (right now we're "dating"? it's kinda fun but also boring but it is working :D) should be updating soon so hopefully you won't have to wait too long :) love you guys! **

**Please review? Reviews are my drugs :D xxxxxxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Why is starting a chapter always the hardest bit? I love writing but hate starting, guess that's why We Belong is so far behind, seriously don't know what to say. Anyways here you go guys, hopes it lives up to expectations. Sorry that it's a little late . . . more trouble with my . . . guy. I'll explain at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I think I would take Sebastian over my boyfriend right now, but I still don't own any of them :D**

Jace stared in horror, the first thoughts that crossed his mind were of Clary and Alec. _No! Clary . . . _Jace snarled at Sebastian, his hatred burning like flames in his eyes. He rose to his feet unsteadily, lurching to one side, before launching himself at the other man.

Sebastian casually kneed him in the groin and Jace went down again, thudding hard on the concrete room. He curled into a ball groaning in pain. Sebastian laughed and rolled him over so he could see his face.

"You really think that you could best me?!"

Jace spat at him and Sebastian recoiled whipping the mess off his face.

"That, you get for free, but no more. We are here on business, a message from father."

Jace rolled up to his knees and faced him. "Then say it and leave. I'm sick of looking at your ugly mug."

Sebastian's temper flared and he slammed his fist into Jace's face, breaking his nose. Jace fell backwards, coughing on the blood that was pouring into his mouth. He spun, landing with his back to Sebastian, and lashed out with his foot, sending Sebastian backwards. He pushed himself up, ready to flee, when something landed on him and pinned him to the ground.

The woman was above him, trapping his arms to the ground with her knees. He struggled but couldn't get up, she was surprisingly strong. Then he felt her knife pressed to the back of his neck again.

"Don't move."

Jace huffed. "Is that all you can say?!"

She struck him with the knife again and his vision flashed.

"Master?"

It took Jace a few seconds to realise that it was the woman who'd said that. Then Sebastian answered.

"I'm fine." His voice was uncharacteristically gentle before he waved her away. She got up and Sebastian pinned the still dazed Jace back to the ground.

"Ah, now where were we?" he paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "Ah I remember . . . the message."

He released Jace's left arm from under his knee and twisted it painfully behind his back. Jace grunted in pain and struggled slightly, he hated being so powerless, so helpless in this situation. Something struck him on the back the head again and Jace's vision swam, red and white lights flashing across his vision. Jace vaguely registered his left sleeve being ripped off and his shoulder being bared to the cold. Jace slumped, unable to throw Sebastian off even slightly.

Then he felt the harsh stabbing feeling running over his skin. It felt like the burn of a stele, but ten times more painful. Jace twisted his head, straining to see that way. Sebastian was indeed holding a stele to his skin, but the rune that was flaring up on his skin was red, dripping blood. Then a spurt of red hot pain and fear blasted through his system, shocking Jace.

He bucked, desperately trying to get Sebastian off him. He succeeded and rolled away from him, protecting his injured arm and drawing his sword. Sebastian was glaring at him, but the look of shock on his face could still be seen through his fury.

"Get him! Quick we need to finish it!" Sebastian yelled at the woman, who leapt towards Jace.

Jace staggered back, flattening himself against the wall behind him, holding his sword level at the woman. She dodged and tried to slip under his guard, but Jace was quicker. He sliced down her arm as she lunged to catch his ribs. The woman whimpered in pain and retreated a few paces. Sebastian walked forward then, and lightly touched the woman's arm. She let him and bit her lip as he traced the cut.

"You'll pay for that, scum."

Jace spat at him, a glob of blood splattered onto Sebastian's face. He flinched before whipping it away with his sleeve. Jace regretted the action at the look of fury that burned in Sebastian's eyes. If Jace could of he would have backed away more. He was terrified now of what would happen, an unfamiliar experience for Jace.

As Sebastian advanced on him Jace saw some movement behind him. There was a whoosh of something travelling through the air then the crack as it struck the woman's head. She crumpled to the ground then a flash of silver as Clary's sword whipped through the air, slicing at Sebastian's ribs. His eyes bulged and he fell to one knee, covering himself with his own sword. Clary kicked at him and he rolled away, towards the woman.

Clary stood between him and Jace. "Leave. Now." Clary's thoughts were racing, she was afraid. She thought that even in his weakened state, Sebastian would have still been a treat to her, but to her surprise he didn't attack. Sebastian glanced at the woman lying on the ground behind him then slowly backed round her. He stooped and picked her up, before leaping to the next rooftop and disappearing into the darkness.

Clary spun and knelt by Jace, taking in his head wound and the blood running down his arm. "What did he do to you Jace?"

Jace painfully twisted his arm around, letting her have better access to the dripping wound. She gently drew across the tattered skin, before wiping away the blood with a cloth. He looked up then, shame tingeing his beautiful eyes. Clary gently cupped his face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. She ran her thumbs along his cheek bones, trying to get him to look at her properly again.

Finally Jace looked up and smiled weakly slowly rising to his feet with her. Clary checked around the area for Sebastian and the woman, but they were long gone. They both nimbly dropped to the ground and crept along the alley way to they're hideout.

As they entered and tiredly collapsed on the cushions and blankets that served at their shared bed, Clary threw the bag of food to one corner, caring more about the state of her husband. Jace looked at her but just sighed and lay down on the bed.

"Jace, tell me what's up."

Jace sat up and stared straight at her. He pulled her in and kissed her passionately winding his arm around her waist and pulling her down on top of him. She straddled him as her arms snaked around his neck, drawing her closer to him. Jace groaned slightly as their crotches ground together.

Clary pulled back, gasping for air. "Jace . . ."

"Hmmm?" He grinned at her pulling her in for another kiss.

Clary resisted him and looked at him puzzled. "Jace? What happened up there?"

Jace looked away from her and huffed, pushing her off his lap. He tucked his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. Clary reached out and gently drew him towards her. He curled into her, resting his head in her lap as Clary hummed and stroked his hair, running the soft curls in between her fingers.

Jace snuffled slightly into her. "He did something to me, Clary. I can feel it under my skin. It feels like all the light has faded out of my life, like he sucked it out, but I can't remember how. You found me on top of that roof, but I can't remember what happened before you appeared. I know it sounds crazy, but I know he did something. It feels like a worm wiggling around in my brain, eating away at things and destroying that which makes me, well me. I hate it."

Clary stroked his forehead and leaned in to kiss it. "He's never going to touch you, do you understand? He can't take away you happiness; I'm always going to stand between you and anything that tries to hurt you, yeah? I'll never let you down, Jace.

Jace nodded. "I know." Then he whispered, too quietly for Clary to hear, "But what if I let you down."

-Jump-

Simon paced outside the door, impatiently waiting for the door to open.

_Izzy's on the other side of this door. I can't help her. I can't help the woman I love more than the whole world. I'd give anything to help her, and there is nothing to give. I'm worthless to her._

Simon had a long wait ahead of him.

-Jump-

Luke sat at the end of his bed in only his boxers. Jocelyn was curled up under the covers. Luke felt his heart retch in his chest when he looked back at her. _I let her down. Clary's gone, she could be d-dead, and it's all my fault. _Luke had rocked her to sleep as she had cried her eyes out. Clary was her child, her only child as far as she cared. Jocelyn needed her, and he'd thrown her to the devil. _Almost literally. _

Then Luke's heart sank. _She's my daughter too. I've killed my own daughter . . . Angel, how am I going to live with myself if she never comes back?_

There was movement behind him and Jocelyn sat up in bed. She rubbed her puffy eyes and stared across the room at him.

"Luke?"

Luke didn't want to turn and look at her. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks, but he hated the idea of the woman he loved, the woman he had to be strong for to see him so weak and vulnerable. But he had to be strong and face her.

He slowly turned, the tears making his eyes shake, and weakly smiled at her. He heard the sharp intake of breath as she saw how shattered he was. She scooted down to the end of bed and sat next of him.

"Luke? Oh, God, Luke you can't blame yourself for this, ok? I am upset about this, of course. My daughter is missing. But she's not just my daughter. She's _our_ daughter. She's as much your daughter as she is mine. You're the only father she's ever known. You've did everything you could to look after her, but she loves Jace. She would have never leave him, never go without him, and never walk away from him. She is his as he is hers. They can't live without each others."

Luke nodded, and he felt some weight lift off his heart. _It'll never be enough, not till they return. But for now . . . for now it'll have to be._

-Jump-

Izzy's eyes fluttered open. The white ceiling scorched his eyes and they were crusted at the corners they'd be closed for so long. Her brow furrowed in pain and she scrunched her eyes shut again. _What happened?_ Izzy cracked her eyes open again and looked about the room. She saw a figure to her right and squinted at it, trying to bring it into focus.

Brother Enoch stood a few feet away from her, his head bowed and hood up. He looked up as Izzy looked at him.

_You have been asleep for a long time, little Shadow hunter._

Izzy nodded slowly. "How long?"

_Three days._

Izzy sighed and sat up, wincing as she did so.

_You should rest, stay in bed and I shall bring who you desire._

Izzy nodded again. "Wait. First, what was wrong with me?"

_A rune had been carved into your skin and your mind._ An image flashed across Izzy's mind of a red, dripping rune, all jaggy and menacing. _Yes, you know of the rune I speak. Do you remember how you got such a rune?_

Izzy shook her head. "I don't ever remember such a rune, but now . . . it just appeared in my mind. How could a rune get into my head?"

_I do not know. It is not a rune I know, nor is it any of the books of runes. Is it possible young Clarissa Lightwood would recognise it as her own design?_

" . . . Maybe, but why would she put it on me?"

_That I also cannot answer. I only fear that Clarissa did indeed place the rune on you._

A shiver ran down Izzy's spine. "Clary wouldn't do that."

_It is the view of the Clave that she might have done. Their view is that she placed the rune on you at some point and then stayed to 'fight' Sebastian. She could slip away with him and no one would notice._

"But what about Jace?"

_Either she killed him or he went with her, thus being in on the plan._

"But that's stupid! Why would Clary do that?! She-"

_I am well aware of this Miss Lightwood, but the Clave cannot see another explanation for the current situation. Until Clarissa and Jace return and prove their innocence to the Clave and the Inquisitor, they are suspects. Unfortunately the evidence is against them at the moment._

Izzy sighed and leaned back into her pillows. "Could you get me Simon, please?"

Brother Enoch bowed his head and left the room. A few seconds later and Simon tumbled in, his face streaked with pain.

"Iz?"

"Si! Oh I'm so glad to see you." She smiled softly across the room at him as he caught his footing and walked to the foot of the bed.

"Are you ok?" Simon hovered at the end of her bed, clearly wanting to come closer, but was still afraid to do so.

Izzy reached out her hand to him and e moved towards her, taking her hand and lightly sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm fine, just a little shaken. Have you heard the rumours?"

"What rumours?"

"About what happened to me?"

Simon sighed. "How is it that you've been unconscious for three days and you're still know more of the gossip than me?"

Izzy laughed, a smile lighting up her face. "Ah, well first you have to be beautiful, then you have to be intelligent and then you have to be a girl." She shook her head. "The Clave thinks that Clary did this to me. That she created this rune they found on me."

Simon looked horrified. "Why on Earth would they think that?"

"Because they can't recognise the rune from any of the books. It's not in any books and I bet it's not on Clary's wall in their room. So the next leap is that Clary created it. And if she made it . . ."

". . . She used it." Simon finished for her. "Shit. They must be scared witless if they think _Clary_ would turn on us."

Izzy nodded. "Angel, I hope they're ok."

Simon silently agreed with her.

-Jump-

Ale woke to something pinning him to the ground. He immediately jumped to the worst case scenario and rolled to shake loose his attacker. The other person hit the floor with a thud, groaning as they're bare skin grazed the cold stone. Alec shook himself and sprang up reaching for his sword that lay on the side, turning to face the assailant.

Magnus was slowly pushing himself up, grumbling and complaining under his breath. His hair was flattened across his face and his clothes looked horrendously crumpled and stained, but as Alec looked closer, Magnus seemed healthier to him than he had for weeks. The bags under his eyes had vanished; his skin wasn't as pale as it was last week.

Magnus pushed himself to his feet then stretched up, yawning like a cat. He stopped mid stretch though and stared at Alec.

"Why on Earth is your sword levelled with my throat?"

Alec blushed, stammered something about being rushed and leant the sword against the wall. When Magnus just raised his eyebrow at him, Alec forced words out of his mouth.

"Thought I was being attacked . . . something pinning me to the ground."

Magnus laughed. "You were being such a good pillow till then . . . Shame. I was rather enjoying myself."

Alec grinned and walked over to him pressing his lips to his partners. "Do you feel better?" He asked when he drew back.

Magnus' eyebrow shot back up again. "You were attacked by Minions lost about half your weight in blood and you're asking _me _how I am?"

"That's cause I know how I am, I want to know how you are."

Magnus chuckled and wound his arms around Alec's waist. "I am brilliant now that you are on the mend. I've been so worried about you recently and it's taken everything out of me. My magic was ridiculously low, I could barely heal a scratch."

Alec nodded and furrowed his brow. He gently stroked his fingers through Magnus' flopped hair. He felt the urge leap up his spine, so he leaned in, slanting his mouth across Magnus'. He tightened his arms around his neck, groaning slightly into the kiss.

"I love you." Alec proclaimed when he came up for air.

"I love you too . . . forever and ever more."

**Yay . . . hope that was ok. Sorry have been really down this week . . . was told (half way through writing this chapter) by my sort-of-boyfriend's really good mate, that he doesn't give a shit about me and is only still with me to use me for sex. . . Unfortunately I believe this person as they are one of the few people close to HWMNBN (first to work that one out gets a story request or another reasonable prize of their request) and so would know if he's lying or not. Even he (the friend for reasons unknown is being called Bob) thinks that he's being a dick and I should get rid of him. I think Bob is right. **

**But I still love him . . . **

**Please review with either**

**Advice**

**Funny stuff to cheer me up**

**Loving reviews about what you like about this story. Or didn't and how I can change it **

**Please?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here we go my friends. For those that read my story With All My Heart, please know that I'm forcing myself to finish We Belong before starting such a story and I want a stronger footing in Shadows in the Mist so I don't give up on this story either.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of these wonderful people :'( **

Clary huffed slightly and called down to where the others sat. "Hurry up! There's no one here! I want to go home!"

Jace's hand shot into view and he hauled himself up, and then plopped himself down next to his wife.

He turned and grinned at her, the warm summer light highlighting his hair and making his eyes shine. "Eager to get back to get back to our soft, cosy bed?" He winked at her as her favourite cocky grin curved up his face.

Clary laughed and straddled his legs, resting her arms around his neck. "Just 'cause you can't wait to have me on my back." She whispered in his ear, before nibbling on the lobe and flicking her tongue into it.

Jace moaned slightly, arching his hips to grind into hers. He wrapped his arms tightly round her and crushed her lips to his. Jace's fingers found their way into her hair and tugged at it, pulling her body flush against his.

Clary bit down on his lip before sucking it into her mouth, one hand worming its way down to rub the hard lump in the front of Jace's pants. Jace groaned, and then whimpered beneath her, practically begging for more.

A cough sounded from behind them and Clary looked up from her work.

Magnus was stood looking at them his eyebrow raised. "Nice as it is to watch porn, I prefer the gay kind, thank you very much."

Alec, who was stood next to him, though with his back turned, nearly choked on the piece of fruit he was eating.

"You don't watch porn, do you?"

Magnus shrugged his shoulders. "From time to time. There's this really good video I want to show you when we get back, I want to try-"

Alec went beetroot red and Jace doubled over in laughter, pulling Clary down on top of him. Clary squealed and put her hands up to brace herself, stopping her face millimetres from Jace's. He stopped laughing then and his hand found her face, tracing her cheek bone.

"Time to continue the show then," he murmured before gently kissing Clary, his tongue softly tracing across hers.

Clary rolled them over so they were lying on their sides, their legs wrapped around each other. Magnus coughed again, but neither of them took any notice. Jace's hand was still on Clary's face, holding her close to him, whilst the other ran down her body, before squeezing her bottom and pulling her leg higher up his waist. Clary wound her arms around him and pulled him closer, whimpering and gasping for breath every time Jace released her lips.

"Alright! Enough already!" Magnus walked forward and kicked Jace's arse before knocking on his head. "Do you want to get to that lovely bed of yours or not?"

Jace sighed and rested his forehead against Clary's for a few seconds before sitting up, Clary sat in his lap. Clary giggled and started to get up but Jace pulled her back down, shaking his head.

"Ah ah ah. You remember that honeymoon I promised you all those years ago?"

Clary's grin lit up her face. "Yeah?"

"How bout we take a little holiday, just you, me and a lot of cream?"

Clary smiled and laughed again, her teeth flashing in the bright sunlight, and red curls flying. "I would love that." She said, planting a soft kiss on the end of Jace's nose.

Jace stood up then, Clary still attached to him, clinging to his body with her legs wrapped around his waist. Clary squealed and clung on to him.

"Jace!"

"What?" He said grinning at her.

"Put me down!"

Jace just laughed and looked around her to speak to Magnus. "Mind getting us home then, Sparkles. Or should I say Non-Sparkles." Jace ducked as Alec went for his head.

"Don't say that to him! You know how sensitive he is when he hasn't got access to his make-up!"

There was a sob from Magnus who had his hand against his forehead. "Oh woe is the day that I can no longer have glitter make-up! Dead will I be when tight leather goes out of fashion!"

Alec blushed and Jace and Clary burst out laughing. They ended up in a heap on the floor again, adding to their laughter. Magnus grinned at them then raised his hands and started muttering, creating a portal before them.

Jace stood then and reached to help Clary up. Then the portal shimmered into view, a kaleidoscope of greens, blues and reds, swirling round and round, indistinguishable shapes dancing across the surface. Clary took a few moments to stare happily at the glass like surface.

Then an image swam out of the chaos. It leapt out in red, burning Clary's eyes. She cried out and stumbled back into Jace, but she couldn't look away from the rune that was forcing her to notice it. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head wildly, desperately trying to clear it out of her head.

Clary ripped her eyes open then, deciding that seeing it in the real word was better than in her head. She found herself on the floor, Jace kneeling in front of her. Clary could see his mouth moving, he was obviously yelling something at her but Clary couldn't hear anything. She screamed out at them anyway, but couldn't hear her own voice. There was a noise though. A buzzing in her ear was slowly building, getting louder and louder, drowning out all her thoughts.

Then red hot searing pain crashed through her mind, ripping apart all coherent thought. Clary screamed and screamed, her throat burning. The noise came booming down around her, hurting her ears. She heard Jace yelling her name over and over again. Alec and Magnus yelling too, but that was lost by the animalistic noise that was coming out of her own mouth. She dissolved into sobs, huge, fat tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jace wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to his chest. "Shhh. Its ok, love . . . shhh."

Clary wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as Jace scooped her up, holding her close to him. Magnus stepped through the portal, with Jace carrying Clary through and Alec brought up the rear. The portal rippled as each person stepped through before vanishing a few seconds after they'd stepped through, leaving no trace of the chaos that had just occurred.

-Jump-

Sebastian stalked along the corridor, gleefully watching out of the corner of his eye the prisoners in their cells cowering away from him. He walked to the end of the row of cells, were one prisoner was lying face down in the end cell, away from all the others.

"Hello, Maia. How are we today?"

The person on the floor shifted, a low moan falling out of their mouth. A rattling sounded as the person sat up, revealing shackles around their ankles and hands. Silver shackles.

Maia sat up fully, tugging at the chains that had held her to the wall of the cell for over a year now. Maia remembered the way, long ago, the silver had been agony. She had screamed in pain for hours as the silver had burned away her skin, fusing the muscle to the bone. Maia had never felt so much pain in her life, but now . . . now the pain was just a dull ache that plagued her constantly. She was so used to being in agony that it had become normal for her, as her eyes were accustomed to no light.

Sebastian knelt outside her cell, throwing an apple and catching it right in front of her eyes. Maia found that her mouth was watering as she watched the fruit curve through the air. Sebastian noticed this and a wicked grin rippled across his face.

"Now, now we wouldn't be a bit hungry would we?"

Maia scowled at him, hating every fibre of his being, but wanting the apple so badly. She nodded slowly, shuffling forwards slightly. What surprised her most was that he rolled the apple across the floor to her. Her hand shot forwards and grasped the apple, taking a huge bite from it.

Maia couldn't contain her delight as the juices ran down her lips and dripped off her chin. Sebastian chuckled once then got up and left her munching down on the apple.

Maia stared after him, a thousand thoughts flying through her head, desperately trying to figure out his act of kindness.

Sebastian walked away, a smirk playing across his face, twisting his otherwise handsome features into a hideous mask that so many people had come to hate. His thoughts drifted to what he'd do if he ever caught Jace, if he could wrap his hand around the Lightwood slut's neck. He was enjoying his sinister thoughts as he bounded up the last few steps out of the dungeon and headed along a corridor towards his father's office.

Sebastian paused outside the door, knocked and waited. A few moments later he was called in.

Valentine was stood facing a map of the world pinned to the wall, behind his desk. Another man was cowering in the corner, whimpering every few seconds. Sebastian closed the door behind him, then stepped into the centre of the room and knelt.

"You asked to see me, father?"

Valentine slowly waved a hand, gesturing him forwards and acknowledging his presence.

"Yes . . . Come here . . . Show me where you found Jace and Clarissa."

Sebastian stepped round the desk, careful not to knock any of the paper towers on it over, and gazed at the map. He pressed his index finger to the small dot on the map that represented Rome and the map zoomed in on the place. Sebastian then circled the Nomentano region of Rome and then found the small street which he had found Jace lounging on the rooftops.

"There. _Via Forli. _That's where I found the Angel boy."

Valentine nodded, curling his fingers together, his look cold and calculating.

"Do you wish me to go find them, father?"

". . . You marked him?"

Sebastian shuffled slightly. "It is incomplete. We were interrupted by sister."

Valentine nodded again, never taking his eyes off the map, as if it would somehow reveal to him the exact location of the Clave.

He sighed once before turning away and sitting down at his desk. "We have played games with them for long enough. It's time to start to tear them apart . . . from the inside, my son."

Sebastian nodded and bowed deeply before leaving the room. He quickly sprinted across the base, heading for his own room, far away from all others. He settled himself down on the comforter that served as his bed and started to meditate. One last thought swept through his mind before he lost himself to the darkness.

_Now the fun begins . . . Now it's my turn to strike at you, little sister._

-Jump-

As Clary felt Jace place her back on her feet, she was aware that people were rushing forwards, gathering round them. Magnus was waving her arms, but once again the sound had tuned out. Clary saw Jace step forwards, away from her, whilst keeping one hand on her. Clary swayed slightly, nausea creeping through her system.

Then a voice slithered through her mind.

_Hello sister._

Clary blanched and tried to move, to warn Jace that Sebastian was near.

_Oh, but I'm not, am I sister? I'm just here . . . in your head._ His cold laugh rang through her head, echoing out across the room.

Clary turned slowly, dazed and confused. She stared up into Alec's face, who wasn't looking at her. He was talking to someone else.

_You know none of this can last? _Clary spun slowly, taking in all the people that were round her. _We will find you sister. We will end this little rebellion and we will murder every last one of you. The streets of London will run red and gold with rivers of your blood. We will destroy all of your Institutes, one by one. _

Clary felt herself scream again before her legs gave out and the blackness rose up to greet her.

The last thing she heard was Sebastian's harsh laughter. _We will find you. Mark my words, little sister._

-Jump-

Izzy was sat on the window ledge, staring at a page of a book. She had been staring at the same page for at least half an hour. She knew she had to read it, the Clave had instructed that all must carry on their training and all must now be taught how to fight in war, to fight their own.

Izzy shook her head trying to shake out the horrible image that plagued her. She still felt responsible for her brother and Magnus' disappearance as well as Clary and Jace's. She had been avoiding Simon as much as possible, simply because she was getting sick of him trying to make her feel better. He had been pestering all day, desperately trying to keep her entertained so that she wouldn't be able to sit around and blame herself for everything. She had got sick of him eventually after he tried to get her to play charades with him and Erik.

She had yelled at him to "Fuck off" in the end before throwing her glass at his head. She missed but it shattered against the wall, spraying the two friends with small, sharp shards. Simon had spent the last few hours in the infirmary getting slivers of glass removed from under his skin. Erik had been smart enough to duck under the table when she had shot Simon a 'die' look and so had saved himself from the incoming glass.

Izzy did feel bad for it, because whilst Simon was very robust, and difficult to be hurt, his feelings were severely wounded. She did plan to make that up to him; she was just too annoyed with him right now. She loved him so much, and was ready to spend the rest of her life with him, she was just so sick of arguing with him. She had given up trying to convince him that she wanted to become a Vampire and spend the rest of eternity with him. She loved him, more than the whole world. Isabelle knew that she would watch the world burn and all those that lived on it, just to see him safe. It shook her to her core that she thought such things, that she would throw away everything for one man. _Not just any man,_ she reminded herself, _the man you are willing to become an outcast amongst those I hold closest._ Then the image of Alec flashed across her mind. _He's not afraid to be who he is, with the man he loves. No, Alec, Magnus, Jace, Clary . . . they wouldn't turn their backs on me. They're the ones that matter._

With that thought Izzy quickly stood and, throwing her book down on the windowsill, she strode off in search of the man she loved.

-Jump-

Simon was still sat in the infirmary, having shards of glass picked out of his back. He had been in there several hours before hand, having glass taken out of his face and hands, but then he had been too worried about Izzy to let them finish. He had stormed off the second his face had been healed to find her, but it was in vain. He had scoured the Institute but he had not found her. Simon had collapsed in the nearest lonely corner he could find and had cried his eyes red. Erik had found him an hour or so later, leaning against the wall, his own blood dripping down his back from where he'd driven the glass further into his back.

Erik had knelt down next to him and wordlessly held out his hand to him. Simon had taken it and limped along the corridor after his friend, who led him back to the infirmary. Simon had sat in silence as a Silent Brother had carefully picked put the embedded glass with a pair of tweezers. He was wincing every so often.

Erik sat there, flapping his mouth like a fish out of water, floundering and failing to find the words to comfort his friend.

"Erik . . ."

"Yes?"

"Stop gaping . . . you'll catch flies."

Erik laughed like it was the funniest joke on the Earth, but when he looked back at his friend, Simon had lapsed into silence. Erik scouted closer, not giving up.

"Umm . . . perhaps . . . we should learn from the female kind of our race. You know . . . the other humans- well I guess they're not all human but that's not my point- with like the squashy things on their chests that we, as males, so love to touch and feel. Oh I do so love to do this odd little thing where I put my face-"

"I think I can live without knowing that, Erik." Simon grinned at his friend. "What is it that we need to learn from women?"

" . . . On the risk of sounding wimpy and stupid in the eyes of all men . . . Perhaps we- and by that I mean you- should talk . . . about our- and by that I mean your- problems?"

Simon looked long and hard at his friend before speaking. " . . . Ok? Umm . . . how do we do that?"

Erik opened his mouth and then shut it again before looking extremely puzzled. "I'm . . . not . . . sure."

Simon laughed and then hissed in pain as the Silent Brother dug rather deep into his back.

_My apologies._

"That's fine. Umm . . . perhaps I should just tell you what's wrong . . . and then maybe you could . . . help?"

Erik nodded eagerly. "Yes! Let's go with that plan of attack!"

Simon chuckled softly and started to speak. He told Erik how much he loved Izzy, how much he dreamed of having a normal, mortal life with her. How he would give anything to settle down and have a family with her, but now how he thought that as Izzy grew older and he stayed at 16 that they shouldn't be together, that he should let Izzy enjoy a happy mortal life with a mortal man and have a family. Simon told Erik of the countless times he and Izzy had argued about her becoming a Vampire to spend all eternity with him. He spoke to Erik about how he couldn't bear the thought of her having to suffer the life of a Vampire, even thought it would mean him getting everything he could ever want, a full happy life with the woman he loved. He couldn't bare her family shunning her for becoming something that they hunted and killed. For her to live in disgust with herself for lowering herself to be a Downworlder.

Erik opened his mouth to speak, to offer some wisdom to his friend when a voice rang out across the white room.

"If you EVER presume that I am better off without you again, Simon Lewis, I will string you up by your fangs."

Simon twisted on the bed he was still sat on, his shirt laying on the pillow next to him, the Silent Brother who had been working on his back long gone. Izzy was stood in the door way, her hands on her hips.

Simon's eyes popped slightly at seeing her there. She was in a really short, black skirt with a skin tight halter-neck top on with a leather jacket over that. The halter-neck was also black with silver studs across it in a swirling pattern. The whole outfit showed off her thin waist, her beautiful curved breasts, her long tanned legs and supple arse. Simon slowly worked his way up from her legs all the way up to her face, pausing to appreciate his favourite parts.

When he finally looked at her face he saw that she had her full make-up on, the foundation, the eye shadow, the eye liner, even the lipstick. Simon was baffled. They had been arguing for weeks, and now here she stood, at the height of it all, looking her most stunning and most beautiful. Then it hit him. _This is her battle armour. When all else fails, she straps on the heels, slips into the skirt and slaps on the make-up, and fights to the death._ As that amusing thought went through his head, another sobering thought cracked through it. _I'm going to lose this argument._

Simon stood slowly and waited for Izzy to make her way over. She stopped about a foot away from him, and Simon recognised her working herself up to argue with him. Before she had a chance though, Simon swooped her up into his arms and kissed her passionately. He dipped his tongue straight into her mouth crushing her flat against his body. Izzy responded after a seconds shock, wrapping her arms around his neck, panting slightly in between kisses.

Izzy pulled back after Erik had resorted to beating Simon over the head to try and stop the couple from making out. The three of them stood laughing together as Simon swung Izzy round, falling head over heels over and over again for her.

**Hello my faithful friends. The journey is long and hard in life, as I have unfortunately learnt with my dick of a boyfriend, but alas . . . I honestly don't know how to finish that sentence. Life is cruel, but we all get our fair share I believe. My hope, my desperate hope, is that with all this unhappiness I'm having just now with first my love life and now with my family with my dad being a dick too.**

**Let us move on with life and hope I get a nice slab of happiness :D I miss being just normally happy, you know? Like find a nice guy that won't use me and get away from my horrid family. Then just live and breathe and all that physiological stuff.**

**Please review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait on We Belong, it is getting there, just incredibly slowly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own twisted plot.**

Simon woke in a warm bed, a white sheet wrapped around him . . . along with the arms of the love of his life. Simon grinned and cuddled Izzy closer to him and snuggled his nose into her hair, breathing in the soft fruity smell of her shampoo. Izzy slowly woke up and stretched out on the bed, pushing herself out of his embrace, wincing at the stiffness in her limbs.

Simon chuckled softly and reached for her. "You ok, sweetheart?"

She nodded and then sat up in the bed, gasping as the covers slipped off of her form. Her naked form was revealed, and whilst Simon usually enjoyed gazing at her, but she was now covered in bruises. There were blotched down her arms and down her legs, some large, hand like ones, others were small like thumb prints.

Simon traced a few of them, astonished that he could have caused such a thing.

"Did I really do that? Last night?"

Izzy giggled and nodded, tracing a few of them herself. She reached for the stele on their bedside table before tracing an _Iratze_ on to her chest, and within minutes, the bruises had mostly faded. Simon grinned and gently grasped her chin, turning her face up towards his, slanting his lips across hers, and kissing her passionately. Izzy giggle against his lips and responded, laughing as she wrapped her arms around him, her legs going round his waist, pulling herself up on top of him.

Simon broke the kiss and laughed with her, trailing his fingers through her hair, kissing her nose and nipping at it playfully. Izzy laughed again, throwing her head back, her teeth flashing. She twined her fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth up to hers, invading his mouth with her tongue, pulling her body flush against his.

Simon groaned slightly and rolled them over so he was on top of her, pushing her down into the bed, capturing her hands above their heads, controlling the kiss. Izzy squirmed beneath him, desperately trying to flip them over so she was in control.

Simon pulled back and laughed, still pinning her to the bed.

"Si?"

"Yes, my dove?"

"Can we talk now? Like about _that_?"

Simon sighed and sat up, gazing at her still lying on the bed. He wanted to be with her, but he knew if he got into this argument with Izzy, she was going to win, of that he had no doubt. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at his feet, clasping his hands in front of him.

Izzy moved forward and gently nuzzled in to his neck from behind wrapping her arms around his waist.

"All I want is for us to be together . . . isn't that what you want too?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah . . . course I do . . . but not like this! I don't want to push all this on to you! Turning against your family and everything you know! You think I want that? You think I want you to lose your family and your friends . . . you think I could live with myself if I did that? I'm not a monster IZ! I don't want to be . . ."

Izzy shook her head vigorously. "No Si! You're not a monster! You've never been a monster and you never will be. Oh Si! Our friends won't turn on us! Clary didn't turn on you when you became a Vampire! Jace doesn't like anyone, so you don't have to worry about him."

Simon laughed, taking hold of her hand and holding it to his face, enjoying the softness of her skin. "I really don't want to get into this argument, Iz . . . I know you'll win in the end, so the only way for me to prevent this from happening is to not have the argument in the first place." Izzy started to protest, but Simon cut across her. "No! I've made my choice, Iz! If you do become a Vampire it will NOT be my hand and I will NOT encourage it or such."

Izzy though for a moment. "So if another Vampire turned me, would you be angry with me?"

"Yes! I would feel hurt and betrayed! I wouldn't want to be with you if you could just go behind my back like that!"

Izzy froze in her rubbing of his back. "You wouldn't want to be with me?"

Simon shook his head, standing up and moving away from her, his hands curling into fists at his side. "It's as much my choice as it is yours. If you become a Vampire it will be by your own choice and thus your future as one will NOT include me."

Izzy looked shocked. "But Si . . . The only reason I want to become one is so I can be with you. Don't you understand? I love you. I don't want to lose you . . . I want to be with you forever."

Simon turned to face her, tears dripping down his face. "This isn't the way to do it. Becoming a Vampire isn't something you should choose Iz."

He stood there staring for a few moments longer before reaching for his clothes, roughly pulled them on and left the room, leaving Izzy sat on the bed, torn between what she wanted and who she wanted.

-Jump-

Clary woke to the rustle of cloth and the sight that she knew all too well.

Jace was lying with his arms wrapped round her, mumbling something into the back of her neck.

Clary caught the words "no" and "bumblebee" and decided it probably wasn't worth her attention so she cuddled back down under the covers, breathing in the soft smell of cotton. Jace started mumbling again, squirming in the bed before sitting upright and yelling at the top of his voice;

"NO! YOU FOUL BEASTS!"

Clary sighed. _Just when I thought I was going to get a lie in,_ she grumbled to herself as she rolled over. Jace looked around the room a little confused.

"Where did they go?"

"You mean the evil bumblebees love?"

Jace went bright red and lay back down turning his back on Clary. She laughed and snuggled in behind him, pressing kisses on his back.

"I promise I won't tell anyone." She said wrapping her arms round him.

He grumbled once then rolled over and cuddled her close, tucking a loose lock of hair out the way as he did so.

"How do you feel today?"

Clary smiled. It had been three days since she'd woken up from collapsing after stepping through the portal and she felt great. The image that Sebastian had shown her still worried her, it felt like there was something under her skin, pinching her every so often, but she couldn't remember the full shape of the rune to replicate it.

"I'm good, just annoyed I still can't remember that rune."

Jace nodded and began stroking her face, gently humming to her. Clary slowly drifted into a light sleep after a few minutes, lulled by the humming and the rhythmic pressure on her skin . . .

_She was sat in her old room in her apartment she shared with her mum. She could hear her mother's singing wailing through the house and she smiled, turning her attention back to the piece of paper in front of her. _

_There were a few odd shapes on it, nothing too important, a frog prince swam into view but the others stayed indistinct masses. She was gazing at the pencils in the box and was reaching for a green when her hand jerked and she grabbed a red instead._

_A strange voice drifted through her head. _Not green, little Sis. It has to be in red or it won't work!

_As quickly as the voice had flashed through her head it was gone, but the impression it made remained. It hadn't sounded right, like someone trying to mimic it and not quite succeeding. Clary rolled the thought off and concentrated on the page before her. There was a large, blank section in the middle which she started to draw in._

_The red pencil moved almost of its own accord. Clary had been doodling- no real image in her head- yet a very familiar shape was spreading across the page. Clary tried to pull her hand away but it wouldn't stop drawing. _

_The rune Sebastian had showed her was glaring at her. Then, to her horror, it rose up off the page and started to slide up her arm. Clary desperately willed her body to move, but it wouldn't._

Don't fight, little Sis! _This time it was Sebastian's voice real and commanding. She stopped fighting as the rune continued on its path up her skin. _It'll be over soon, I promise. We'll infect you and through you all the Clave will fall. _His laughter ran along every nerve in her body._

_But what followed it was stronger._

_Pure rage and anger tore through Clary; she was furious that he thought he could just control her like a puppet. The rage burnt through her destroying whatever hold he had over her._

_Clary shook her arm vigorously and the rune fell off. It arched towards the floor and splattered on to the wood, leaving a blood-like stain. Clary scrambled up and ran out of the dream . . ._

She sat up bolt right in the bed, Jace being batted aside, unfortunately rolling off the bed and landing roughly on the floor.

"Jace!"

He staggered up, holding his head. "What?"

"Paper! Paper, paper!"

Jace looked confused for a second before it clicked and he launched himself at the bedside table, hooking the top draw open with his pinkie. He yanked out a notepad and a pen and frisbeed them to Clary who gratefully took them and, with a thankful smile, began to draw.

A few minutes later and Jace saw the reason for him being so rudely tossed out of bed.

"Is that what they found on Iz?"

Clary nodded excitedly. "Sebastian! He was in my head, but then he wasn't and it was a dream and the rune was there and he tried to put it on me, but he didn't manage!" Jace blinked twice as he took in that sentence.

"He was in your head? Did he get it on you?"

She shook her head. "He didn't manage." She smiled broadly and pulled Jace towards her laughing as he came down on top of her, immediately turned on a little. "He failed! We're going to win!"

Jace laughed and kissed her passionately running his hands down her sides and pressing his body down on top of her's. Clary threw the pad and paper across the room, not caring where it landed, and twisted her fingers into Jace's hair pulling his lips back to her's every time he tried to pull away.

Jace grinned and hoisted himself up on to his elbows licking his lips as he gazed down at the semi-naked woman beneath him.

"Angel, I am the luckiest man alive." He captured her lips again his hands roaming up her side. They sat up and Jace gently started to kiss down her neck and on to her shoulder nipping at the skin there.

Clary moaned into him wrapping her arms around his neck, pushing Jace down on to his knees on the floor. She stood and undid her bra from under her pyjama top, flinging it across the room before straddling Jace's lap where he'd been sitting on the floor, licking his lips as she descended on him.

Jace groaned as she pressed her body against his, his cock twitching in his trousers. He groped at her, sliding his fingers over the newly revealed flesh, pinching and twisting at her nipples as she whimpered on top of him, throwing her head back in pleasure.

Jace grinned and thrust up against her hips making Clary moan and whimper in appreciation, yanking his head back to kiss him roughly, nipping at his lower lip and sucking on his tongue as Jace leaned in, his manhood become really hard now.

Clary groaned and started pulling his clothes off, his pyjama bottoms flying across the room, unimportant to the two lovers.

Jace grinned and tugged at her clothing, her t-shirt and shorts coming off and following his trousers. Clary grinned and pulled him down on top of him on the bed, wrapping her legs around his waist, grinding against his hips, driving him crazy.

Jace groaned and quickly pushed himself into her, Clary sighing happily. They started moving against each other quickly building up tension between them.

Jace lost himself in the quick thrusting movements, panting as Clary hissed, scratching down his back.

Jace groaned loudly again as Clary arched into him, her breathe filling his hearing, her groans the only thing he heard as he thrust into her again and again. Clary hissed again as he rose up on to his elbows and went as fast as he could, pushing deep inside her.

Clary moaned and pulled Jace closer to her. "Oh Jace! Yes!"

Jace grunted in response, too focused on the pleasure to reply. He gasped and pushed in deep, spilling in to her as she clung to him. He dipped his head on to her shoulder and bit down on her shoulder blade still thrusting in to her, trying to get her to come too.

Clary whimpered and began to call out, arching into him as she hit her climax.

"Jace! Oh Angel, please! Yes!"

Jace whimpered around his teeth and collapsed on top of her, panting heavily.

"Firebug . . . Angel, we haven't done that in ages."

Clary laughed weakly and twisted under him as he shifted on to his side, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. Sweat dripped off his forehead and shone on his strong arms, catching in the soft witchlight that filled the room.

Clary mumbled something into his chest and he smiled.

"I love you too, Firebug."

-Jump-

Izzy was crouched on the top of a building looking out over the Shanghai skyline, grateful of the cool breeze drifting in off the sea. Her hair was billowing out behind her in soft waves and her uniform was immaculate. She ran her thumb along her blade, which was tucked into her belt, checking it was still there. She knew it was still there, but she checked anyway.

It had been a week and a half since she'd last seen Simon, when he's stormed out of their room. She had heard rumours and passing comments of where he was about the Institute, but Izzy had decided that if he didn't want to come and talk to her she wouldn't seek him out.

The only problem was it was killing her.

Izzy knew she loved Simon, she knew that she would give up her mortality in a second to be with him. When she had her nightmares at night all she could see was Simon. Simon telling her that she was too old for him. Simon saying that he'd found a Vampire mate. Simon saying he didn't want to be with her anymore.

Simon saying he didn't love her.

The thought brought a tear to her eye, ruining her otherwise perfect makeup. The eyeliner and mascara ran down her cheek with the tear creating a black curving line across her face, like a scar. Izzy quickly wiped away the tear and pulled out her mirror and makeup to fix the stain.

She sat there for a little while longer before checking her blade again and checked that she had indeed put on a glamour rune. She then squared her shoulders and set off for her destination.

A few minutes later and she stood at the base of the Shanghai World Financial Building. Izzy really appreciated the effects the glamour rune had, but walking through a crowd of people with one on was a real challenge, people kept bumping into her, there simply wasn't enough room for the normal effect of people getting out of her way to happen. People tried, but others pushed them back in line.

So Izzy quickly scrambled up the building side, clinging to the window ledges and such to prevent herself from falling. Higher and higher she climbed until, a good ten minutes later, she reached the top and sat with her legs dangling over the edge. Now, as she sat there, she truly appreciated why Jace did this all the time. It cleared her head instantly and pushed almost all worries from her head. Clary's problems, Magnus, Alec even the missing Maia flew from her mind till she was just left with Simon. Always Simon.

Izzy sighed and slumped a bit, leaning back to catch the wind sweeping across the building. She loved Simon, but she knew that this problem could tear them apart. She wanted him to be happy more than she wanted herself to be happy. He always came before everything else in the world to her. She sighed again and knew she only had one course of action.

_I have to leave him._

The thought ripped through her, causing her unimaginable pain, but she knew it was the right thing to do. It would give them time to think, for Simon to experience what it would be like to live without her. Izzy hated the idea, but she knew it had to be done.

She twisted round and started scaling down the building, dreading what she had to do.

**Oh I hate leaving it like this, but for the story to turn out like I want it has to take this course for the moment. Please bear with me, I promise happy endings all around, it's just how they get there that you don't know.**

**Don't hate me?**

**Please review :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**OMG you guys have no idea just how chaotic my life is at the moment. I'll explain everything in the bottom author's note so as not to ruin the chapter, hope it's not too late :) **

**Disclaimer: Still only own my odd little plot**

Maia sat bored in her cell for the first time in her long stay. Sebastian had revisited her a few days ago and removed her manacles, as well as feeding her. She was getting seriously suspicious of him but there was little she could do as otherwise she would starve. _And_, she thought to herself, _if he's willing to be nice, why not take advantage of it?_ She grinned and rubbed her wrists absentmindedly- a habit she'd picked up since the manacles had come off. _I could get out of here with a few more slips from him_.

The idea filled her with a new kind of hope that swelled through her system, filling with a new kind of energy that had nothing to do with her recent meal. _Not scraps, meal._

She curled back into her corner, a blanket- again provided so kindly by Sebastian- wrapped around her. A contented smile sat on her face as she puzzled it through.

_They need me for something. To get me to do it, they need to be nice to me. I can use this to my advantage and gain my freedom again._

The smile grew in to a confident grin that puckered on Maia's lips. Then her thoughts turned, for the first time in years, to home, of seeing her pack again, of seeing her friends- Clary, Jace, Alec, Simon, Izzy even Magnus- again, laughing and mucking around together. Then her thoughts drifted to another individual she had forbidden to think of in here.

Jordan.

She missed him so much it didn't make sense. She knew he'd probably have moved on by now; maybe even found a mate, but the thought that he could have waited for her tortured her thoughts. _He might have waited. He could still be searching for me to this day . . . He could be._

-Jump-

Jordan was in fact sitting bored at a council meeting, trying his best not to fall asleep.

_Fuck this is boring. Wonder what new stupid rule they're going to implicate to stop all this bullshit._ He chuckled slightly to himself before lapsing into silence again. Then a few words caught his attention in the Councillor's speech.

". . . As for our reports of the prisoners being held captive by the Minions, there has been some success."

Jordan's heart leapt in his chest and he sat up a little straighter, listening intently.

"Our spies within the Minion ranks have provided us with very valuable information indeed. There is a mass tunnel system under the city of Barcelona, a mass system of prison cells. It is constructed with five levels of cells with the most important prisoners being kept in the lowest level, sub level five. Our spy, at the moment, only has access to the first two levels, but we believe in time that he will be granted access to a further two levels. Unfortunately the bottom most level, sub level five, is only accessed by Sebastian Morgenstern, making it impossible for us to ever tell who is caught down there by merely spying."

"So far we have had reports of minor Clave members being held on level two, level one appears to be temporary stays, as in that the prisoners kept there are usually dead within a week. We can only hope that this number is low. As for the other levels . . . we do not know. In time we hope our spy will be able to safely venture down there . . . but it will take time."

Jordan leaned back again, disappointed. The other werewolf beside him smiled sadly at him. He leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"You need to stop getting your hopes up mate. If they find her, they find her. But honestly . . . they're unlikely to anytime soon."

Though the words stung Jordan, though he knew they were true. It was a game of waiting and hoping.

-Jump-

Simon sat at the edge of the bed feeling depressed as he thought about Izzy. It had been two weeks since he'd last seen her, and a few days since he'd heard the news that she'd asked to be transferred to the London Institute. It hurt him terribly that she would leave him, but he knew that she was only trying to give him some space.

What she hadn't known was that whilst he'd been avoiding her, he'd actually been checking up on her every so often, slinking behind her in a corridor to check on her health and such. He sighed and dropped the photo he'd been holding.

It was his favourite one of the whole gang. They had been quite young, 18 for Clary, just before Valentine had declared all-out war on the Clave. It had been snowing in New York City and the whole gang had decided to go to the park to enjoy the day. They had had a snowball fight, made snowmen, made snow angels and even tried to make a snow Church. Then Simon had pulled out his camera from his bag and set it up to take a picture. He'd set the timer up and raced back to wrap his arms around Izzy.

It was a perfect photo. He and Izzy were stood on the left, Izzy kissing his cheek as he grinned at her, then Jace and Clary, Clary getting a piggy-back from Jace, laughing as the snow fell around them. Next was Magnus and Alec, Magnus with his arm around Alec's waist, Alec looking slightly red. Then there was Maia and Jordan at the right hand side, holding hands and blushing slightly.

_Four happy couples,_ Simon thought, _all of them being torn apart by this war._

This thought hurt him. _The war has ruined everything. We were happy, wanting simple normal lives . . . and this tore us apart._ Simon started thinking of what it would have been like if the war had never happened. Then he sighed. _Even if the war had never happened, I would still have to deal with the immortality problem with Iz . . . Damn I need to talk to Clary._

Simon got up and walked out the room, lightly jogging down the corridors, navigating his way to Jace and Clary's room.

A few minutes later he was stood outside their room. They- like everybody else- didn't have a door, but they did have a curtain. Simon coughed a couple of times outside the curtain and waited. He heard laughter and giggles but no sign that they had heard him. He sighed and pushed the curtain aside.

There was a squeal and Simon quickly turned round to face the curtain again, his ears turning pink.

Clary and Jace had been twisted round each other in a very passionate embrace that was unfortunately, for Simon, devoid of clothing. Clary quickly pulled the covers over the two of them and coughed self-consciously.

"Si?"

Simon entered again, a little pink at the ears and mumbled something at her. Clary smiled and shoved at Jace. Jace took one look at her, a little annoyed that she was stopping their fun time, and rolled gracefully out the bed, hooking up bits of clothing off the floor as he did so.

As he disappeared into the bathroom Clary reached out and succeeded in gathering up her clothing from the pile at the side of the bed. Simon shuffled uncomfortably at the end of the bed, his eyes glued to the floor, his back to Clary to give her some privacy.

"You can turn round now Si."

Simon turned round and tried again to say the words stuck in his throat. And failed again.

Clary giggled and reached under her bed pulling out a bottle of coke and handed it to him. "Here. It'll help clear your throat. Then you can stop mumbling and start telling me what's wrong."

Simon laughed a little weak heartedly and took a gulp from the bottle. "Thanks."

Jace bumbled back into the room then, scooped up his t-shirt and threw it on.

"I'm not interrupting am I?"

"A little, love."

Jace grumbled something along the lines of 'being kicked out of my own bloody bed' and made his way out of the room and down the corridor.

Simon laughed again and handed back the bottle. "How come you have complete control over him, yet you're in a happy relationship?"

Clary looked at him puzzled. "I don't control Jace. I own him for sure, but he's a free spirit, it'd be animal cruelty to control him."

Simon grinned. "But still you're happy with him, yes?"

Clary nodded. "Si . . . where's this going? Is something wrong with you and Izzy? Is she alright?"

Simon shook his head. "Well . . . physically I presume she's still ok. But we, as a couple, are not ok. Umm . . . we're kinda . . . not . . . a couple at the moment."

Simon trailed off, unable to look up at Clary's face before he continued.

"We've been fighting over an issue for ages now, and neither of us will budge. So . . . we stopped spending time together. It was the only way to stop fighting. But now . . . she's transferring across to London . . . Clary I might never see her again."

Clary shook her head. "No. I am positive that you will see each other again, you are a perfect couple."

"But we fight all the time!"

"Being a perfect couple doesn't mean never fighting or disagreeing. It means being perfect for each other."

Simon sighed. "We're fighting about the future, Clary."

That's when Simon told her everything. It just poured out of him. He told Clary about their holiday in Oxfordshire, leaving out the more private bits, about all the wonderful times they've had over the years. Then he told her about their fighting. About how much he didn't want Izzy to have to become a Vampire for them to be together properly. Even about how Izzy wanted to become a Vampire, even if it meant going behind his back to do so, for them to be together forever.

Simon ended up with tears running silently down his cheeks, making him blub slightly as he spoke, with Clary rubbing his back and listening intently.

"Si?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Izzy are made to be together, all you need to do is sit down with her and talk it through with her. You can work it out together; if you like I'll sit in with you and make sure it's a fair discussion."

Simon nodded slowly. "Yeah, that'd be good. Maybe that'll sort it out, right?"

Clary smiled and pulled him into a tight hug. _It's going to be just fine, Si. Just fine . . . _

-Jump-

Sebastian sat on his bed in the lair, humming softly to himself as he tried to calm himself down. Then he pushed everything from his mind and slipped away into the world of mists and shadows.

Here he travelled in a way. Like a Projection, though no one could see him. He passed over countries and sort of flew towards his destination. Here he dived straight through the ground and into the Shanghai Institute. Sebastian allowed himself one grin before silently walking along the corridors, scanning them as he went, until finally he saw what he was looking for.

A lone Shadow hunter was walking slowly down the corridor towards him, his nose deep in a book. As he levelled with Sebastian he paused, looking up and around him as if he heard something. Then he shrugged his shoulders and continued along the corridor.

Sebastian fell into step behind him, and unsheathed his dagger. He plunged it into the man's back, going straight through his spinal cord and severing an artery at the same time. The Shadow hunter's eyes rolled once then he collapsed in a heap on the floor, unable to move as his blood seeped out of him.

Sebastian laughed once then took off in search of his true target, leaving the still conscious man to die slowly, alone in the gloom.

He reached the training room and peered in, spotting his target.

They were pummelling a punching bag in the back corner. They cried out as they hit it one last time as the bag came off its chain and thumped against the wall, sliding down the glass of the mirror.

Jace crossed his arms above his head and leant against the wall, his forehead pressed against his arms.

Sebastian stalked closer, regardless of the fact that Jace could neither hear nor see him. He paused and straightened himself out of the crouch when he was only a foot away from Jace. Then he ran a finger over the top of his arm.

A shape flared up beneath Jace's t-shirt, a rune in bright red.

Jace yelled out as it burned into him, causing his arm to hiss and smoke, but to Sebastian's dismay that was all it did. As Jace hopped about the room trying to put out a fire that didn't quite exist, Sebastian watched in disbelief as it didn't seem to be affecting his thoughts or mind at all.

He reached out and brushed against Jace's arm again, effectively turning the rune off. It faded and Jace sat down on the ground, sweat dripping off his forehead as he stared at the mirror opposite. Sebastian crouched directly in front of him so it looked like they were staring into each other's eyes. Sebastian tilted his head slightly to one side and watched as Jace's head mirrored his movements. _At least something works._

He barked out a harsh laughing, causing Jace to jump and scramble backwards, before he let go of the connection, returning to his own body.

He opened his eyes and once again he was sat crossed legged on his bed, darkness pushing in on him from all sides. A grin played across his face before he got up and went to report to Valentine.

-Jump-

Izzy was sat in the Library thumbing through a book, trying to distract herself from thinking about Simon.

She was failing miserably.

All she'd thought about for the last half an hour was how much she'd screwed things up with Simon. She missed him more and more every day, and night was hell. Though the rune had been removed from her arm, she was still having the occasional nightmare which frightened her half to death. All she could see was Simon giving up his life for her, beginning and bargaining for her life after she'd treated him like dirt.

_Here you are moping, when where the hell do you think he is? Sat on a beach enjoying himself? He's the victim here, your victim._

Izzy shoved the thought aside and threw the book onto a ledge before taking off in the direction of the training room. She found it without having to pull herself out of her thoughts; she'd lived in the Shanghai Institute for so long.

When she reached it, however, it wasn't quite in the state she'd imagined.

Jace was sprawled on the floor, his legs stretched out in front and his arms holding him in a sitting position behind. He was staring at the other wall, which was covered in mirrors, with wide eyes and panting hard. One of the mirrors was covered in something, but Izzy wasn't interested in that right now.

"Jace?"

He looked up a little and gazed at her, his eyebrows knitting together and his breathing slowing down. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and licked his lips, trying to force out words that wouldn't come.

"Jace, what's wrong? What happened?"

Jace whispered one word. "Sebastian."

Izzy's blood ran cold and she froze for a second, trying to decide what to do. Then she moved. She scooped her arms under Jace's elbows, helping him stand up. Jace shook slightly, but he seemed stable so Izzy took his hand and lead him down the corridors, heading towards his and Clary's room.

**Thank you guys. I am so sorry about the lateness of this one. BF is officially history though he seems to think that he can click his fingers and I'll come running back. HA! Fuck him! He used me and hurt me there is no way in hell I'm ever going to go back with him. And I'll have my revenge . . . hopefully . . . If I can actually think of something. Ok other excuses: I've been insanely ill recently, like unable to get out of bed. And I've fractured my pelvis in two places which means it now takes ages to get anywhere so seriously sapping my free time :( Anyways hope you liked the chapter.**

**OHHHHHH! You guys have no idea how excited I was when I realized what's coming up next in the story! I have had this bit planned since like chapter 5! I am so excited to start getting into it! If you read carefully the chapters that are already up bet you can guess!**

**Please REVIEW!**

**Please?**


	15. Chapter 15

**(Note: have been keeping a couple of chapters back for this big thing I'm doing so all these authors notes are not as close as they seem, there might be a week between each)**

**Here you go guys! As one may notice I am in a very good mood. And so I must write, regardless of the consequences. Look out world! Here comes the new happy confident meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ! **

**(I might be a tad happy :D)**

**Anyone want an update for my life? New bf, lovely darling Craig, named Bob in one of my earlier stories, so yeah he's my ex's best friend, but I really like him and he really likes me, and I can't be bothered with my ex now being an utter dick about everything. You know he still claims that I'm his? That he can still get me back? Well you can think again buddy! Ha can't touch this dun na num num . . . na num . . . na num can't touch this! If he thinks he can ever get me back he's got another thing coming! If he thinks I'm going to roll over for him like a little dog he can jog on! I'm sorta happy, cautiously, so I won't be hurt as much as I was with HWMNBN, but still happy :) we were playing the family guy game the other night and laughing our heads off at it. I was playing Louis right, and when she's near dying she keeps saying "Take me! Oh just take me!" Hahahaha I just couldn't stop laughing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, settings or such, but I don't mind. I'm happy with my life.**

Maia sat rocking slightly, her arms wrapped round her knees and her eyes darting about the place. She couldn't understand why Sebastian was being so nice to her, what did he want from her? She stopped rocking for a second, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind, before she dismissed all of them as impossible and returned to her rocking. _Jesus Christ! I preferred the torture to this . . . waiting. _She grumbled slightly and rocked faster, trying to decipher the random acts of kindness, but no plausible solutions sprang to mind.

She groaned and rolled over on to her side, cuddling into her blanket and pillow that she had been provided with. It annoyed her that he was being so nice to her and she couldn't figure out why. _They can't be stupid enough to think that I'd turn spy for them . . . could they?_ A few other stupid ideas bounced round the inside of her head before she gave up for the moment and went back to drawing.

She'd been working on this drawing of a wolf for several days now and was determined that this one would work out. It was half finished and was a bit smudgy in places from where she'd tried to rub it out by licking her finger and rubbing at the line. But Maia thought it was giving the wolf a ghostly look that she thought was quite cool.

After a few more minutes of this there was a clunk and a door swung open on her level. She heard footsteps heading towards her and Sebastian stopped outside her cell, crouching down to peer at her.

Maia rolled over to face him so she wouldn't have to crane her neck to see. For a few minutes the two of them just stared at each other before Sebastian began to laugh softly. He crouched there for a few more moments, chuckling to himself, before he got up, rolled an apple to her and walked away.

Maia stared after him before rolling upright and scooting forwards to get the apple. She sank her teeth into it and swooned at the delicious tastes of the juices. She shuffled back to her corner and cuddled back down into the blankets, her head buzzing with questions.

_What does he want?_

-Jump-

Simon looked up as Izzy entered the room and gazed at her, unable to form any words. In his eyes she looked beautiful, perfect in every way and shape. His eyes ran up her body, taking in anything unusual. He noticed that her clothes looked a little crumpled, her make-up wasn't completely up to scratch- little smudges on her cheeks and around her eyes gave away that she'd been crying- and she wasn't standing up straight. All of these things were unperceivable to anyone who didn't know her so well, but Simon knew everything there was to know about Izzy, she was the most important part of his life.

Izzy stopped staring at him there for a second, before turning to Clary and stammering to her.

"He . . . Jace . . . I found him in the training room . . . like this. I don't know why, but he was just staring at his reflection in the mirror . . . just staring. Then, when he noticed me, he mumbled Sebastian's name. I don't know why."

Clary nodded slowly and went to Jace, the covers thumping to the floor. She reached up and placed both hands on either side of Jace's face, forcing him to look at her.

"Jace? Oh baby, tell me what's wrong."

Jace raised his eyes to meet his wife's worried gaze and mumbled something incoherent before burying his face into Clary's shoulder, a silent tear running down his cheek and soaking into her t-shirt.

Clary cuddled him close and steered him towards the bed, sitting him down on the mattress. He plopped down then reached for Clary as she backed away to collect the discarded duvet.

"Don't- don't leave me."

Clary tugged the duvet round the two of them pulling him down to curl up in her lap. "Shh . . . that's it baby . . . I'll never leave you. I'm always going to be here for you, always going to be with you."

Jace nodded slowly and closed his eyes, drifting off in her arms. Clary began softly stroking his hair and humming to him, helping him escape into his dreams.

Izzy watched the whole thing with tears welling up in her eyes. _All I ever wanted with Simon is there. If they have it why can't we? I love him . . ._

The thought trailed off as she caught Simon staring at her. She turned her attention to him and winked slyly. Simon smiled, though looked a little surprised.

"Iz?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Do you think . . . that we could . . . like sit down and talk? I know I wasn't very . . . diplomatic before, but I thought Clary could sit in and . . . moderate. Like stop my . . . temper flaring."

"And mine too?"

Simon chuckled slightly, nodding towards her. "I was trying to be tactful and . . . not upset you. I'd rather not do that."

Izzy laughed as well, her eyes shutting and crinkling slightly at the edges. She looked up and blushed as she caught his eye. Simon cocked his eyebrow at her. _What on Earth? Are we starting flirting again? _Simon chuckled and stood up, moving towards her.

Hesitantly he wrapped his arms around Izzy's waist, unsure if he was still aloud to do so. She let him, winding her own arms around his neck. Jace lazily lifted his head, gazing at the couple. After a few seconds he giggled and wolf-whistled at them.

Izzy laughed and swung round in Simon's arm, cuddling into his shoulder. "Shut up Jace! Just because you can't be romantic, doesn't mean Simon can't be too." She stuck his tongue out at him and the group laughed all together.

Simon smiled at her, so happy that he could at least have a chance to fix their relationship. He slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her stiffen against him for a second before giving in and kissing him back. She pulled back and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're not getting anymore till we sit down and talk."

"Aww!" Simon grinned at her and rested his forehead against hers, gazing into her eyes. "I'm just grateful for another chance to love you."

Izzy melted into him a little, pulling him into a tight hug. "I've missed you . . . I just wanted you there at night."

Simon pressed his lips to her hair and rested his head on hers, happiness spreading through every bone in his body.

-Jump-

Alec lay on his back, floating on a cloud of stolen bliss. His eyes were closed and he didn't want to move a muscle, but he knew something was missing. _Where's Magnus?_ Alec slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the room they shared in Shanghai, unable to see his other half. With a disgruntled sigh, he swung his legs out of bed and sat up.

A breeze hit him and he shivered slightly, unhappily aware of his complete lack of clothing. He sighed again and reached for his boxers only to find that they weren't there. He stood up and swung around; scanning the floor for his discarded clothing, but was unable to see anything. He huffed out a lungful of air and headed round the bed, looking for Magnus now.

He poked his head into the bathroom and saw Magnus lying in the bath, moodily flicking a rubber duck across the surface of the water with his big toe. He glanced up quickly and grinned as he recognised his boyfriend.

"Hey there, beautiful."

Alec returned the smile and sat down next to the bath, taking hold of the hand that Magnus draped over the side for him. He kissed it softly and pressed his face into it. It had been so long since they'd really been together, safe and uninjured. It was such a relief to Alec, to know that his beloved was safe beside him. They sat there for a while just enjoying each other's company, before Magnus spoke up.

"Love?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we going to do?"

Alec sat up straighter and looked at his boyfriend. He saw the sadness in Magnus' eyes, and sighed heavily.

"What do you want to do?"

Magnus shook his head and sunk back down into the water.

Alec sat back again and thought about it all. He remembered how it used to be with the group just being happy teenagers. He smiled as the memories of them hanging out at Clary's or the Institute sanctuary- these were their usual haunts so Simon could still be with them. They'd done up the sanctuary to look a lot homelier, with several sofas being snapped in thanks to Magnus, loads of cushions and rugs with blankets and duvets so they could easily stay over at night. Magnus had even managed to get a flat screen into the room so they could have a proper get together.

Last time they'd gathered in there Clary had been throwing popcorn with Jace catching it mid-air whilst the others laughed. He was doing stupid dives and bouncing up, before collapsing on top of her, kissing her senseless. They were a happy, perfect couple. _Now they are slowly being driven apart by this stupid war._ The thought was a horrible one, but Alec knew it was true.

Magnus bobbed into view again and gazed at Alec, taking in all of his striking features. His eyes were always Magnus' favourite; such a bright but deep blue colour, drawing him in. They matched so well with his hair, making him seem like an angel to the Warlock. He smiled softly at the black haired boy from over the tub side and ran his wet fingers through the curls, loving their supper-soft silky feel.

Then he brought up the thing that had been hanging over them for the past few days.

"What are we going to do about the trial, love?" He said, echoing his earlier question. Alec grumbled before he properly thought about it.

The Clave Inquisitor had ordered a trial against Jace. No one truly knew the nature of this trial, as no one could find anything that he'd done wrong. Even one of the Elders had had a good poke around trying to find out what the Inquisitor was charging Jace with, but couldn't find anything. Clary was worried sick now, she lay by him every day, trying to make him better with the help of the Silent Brothers, but they were making no progress. He was bed ridden now and slowly losing his mind. Last time Alec and Magnus had visited he hadn't even recognised them. He just kept mumbling for Clary.

_At least he remembers her though; I wouldn't be able to bear it if Magnus couldn't recognise me, but Jace is my brother, Clary is more important to him, as Magnus is to me._

He turned to Magnus and slowly answered his question. "Well . . . you're well-schooled in law aren't you? You said you were once a council member in London, with their Enclave thing. Could you help Clary with all the technical stuff, so she won't get trapped by the Inquisitor's questions or anything?"

Magnus grinned. "Yeah! That's an awesome idea, love! Yes! Let's go find them!" Magnus stood up in the bath, went to take a step forwards, and collapsed over the side of the bath.

Alec dissolved into giggles. "What on Earth were you trying to do?"

Magnus looked a little hurt as he hitched his legs over the side of the bath. "I was trying to run to the aid of our friend! I just . . . sort of forgot that I was in the bath." He went a little pink and reached for a towel.

"You were going to run through the Institute butt naked to _help_ Clary and Jace?" Alec was physically rolling on the floor laughing now, unable to contain the tears that were leaking down the side of his face.

"Well that's a good look love. Naked on the floor, legs in the air. Hmm reminds me of something we were doing last night." With that Magnus discarded his towel on the ground, crawling over Alec, his hips over the other man's, and pressed his lips to his, invading his mouth with his tongue. Alec responded immediately, pulling Magnus closer to him and rolling them on to their sides for a more equal position.

They came up for air after a few moments, and then just cuddled into each other, holding the other's body to their own.

-x-

-Jump-

-x

The Council sat waiting for Clary to speak.

She was stood in a dim chamber, facing a curved bench at which four senior Clave members sat. She licked her lips nervously and glanced down at her notes that were resting on the podium in front of her. She shuffled them slightly then glanced back up at the gathered assembly.

Behind her stood the rest of the Clave, gathered and waiting, like an angry dog waiting to be released upon its victim. Then there were Izzy, Simon, Alec and Magnus sat at a bench a metre or so in front of the mob. Then, slightly to one side was Jace. He was bound to a chair by the handcuffs, his head hanging as he gazed in a stupor at the floor. The Inquisitor paced backwards and forwards in front of Clary.

"Miss Fray I am-"

"I am Mrs Clarissa _Lightwood_; I have been married to Jace _Lightwood _for years now."

The Inquisitor smiled sickeningly before bowing his head at her and turning to the Council.

"My gathered friends . . . We are here today to discern whether or not Mr Jace _Lightwood_ is fit for duty as a serving member of the Clave. Over the past week most people have been able to observe Mr Lightwood, and have commented on his odd behaviour. Now I know it's not my place to question the Angel and his work in giving these two-" he gestured at Clary and Jace- "such plentiful gifts but may I ask whether or not if Mr Lightwood is of the correct state of mind to use them?"

"And what would you suggest _is _the correct state of mind for one to wield such gifts, as you call them?" Clary's jaw line was set as she stared the Inquisitor down.

"Why, a sane one."

A slight gasp ran through the crowd and people began to murmur to each other, shocked that such a thing could happen. Clary's face went white as a sheet and she glanced back. Jace hadn't stirred the whole while, but Izzy nodded encouragingly and Alec gave her a stern smile and a nod.

The far left Council member cracked her fist down on to the table. "I will have ORDER!" The room then fell deathly silent, people not daring to breathe in case they made a sound. The Council member surveyed her work then smiled at Clary waving for her to continue. The woman was a friend of the Lightwoods and a year or so ago, when the Paris Institute had collapsed Jace had saved her life, dragging her away from the Minions that were over running the building. She was a fierce fighter and not a woman to be argued with. Clary was just grateful to have at least someone on her side.

Clary couldn't believe it had come to this now. They were having Jace stand trial for insanity. Clary had felt the chills scurry down through her bones as she thought of her husband as insane. She knew he'd been ill, but insanity was a step to far.

"Thank you, Council. If I might be so bold, Inquisitor, but what qualifications do you possess to determine that my husband is no longer sane?"

The Inquisitor smiled sweetly at her again. "I have eyes, my dear woman. I myself have seen him rampaging around the corridors, grabbing at people as you try to put him back on his leash."

_Yes! _Clary's eyes gleamed slightly, her mind skating over the politics lesson she had had from Magnus.

_Remember, if the Inquisitor should start to speak about his own personal experiences, jump on him. It shows he has a personal attachment to the case at hand and so it is not right for him to carry out the line of questioning as he is biased._

"Council, may I be so bold to suggest that the Inquisitor is personally involved with this case? He seems to be trying to testify himself."

The Council members stirred slightly and another murmur ran through the crowd. They leaned in to whisper to each other and Clary risked a glance back at Magnus. He nodded at her, but with a worried expression on his face. Clary turned and glanced at the Inquisitor. He didn't look even slightly worried, the same sickly sweet smile was curving his lips and his eyes leisurely roamed the room, uninterested in the commotion Clary had caused.

The eldest Council cleared his throat and stood up. "Inquisitor."

"Council?"

"You are permitted to continue, however another slip and this Council will be adjourned."

The Inquisitor nodded at the Council before turning to Clary. "My apologises, Mrs Lightwood. It seems I have over stepped my place, though I assure you it is only to make sure the Clave is safe."

Clary narrowed her eyes at him and waited for him to continue.

"May I inquire of your husband's health from about four months ago?"

"He was in perfect health, thank you."

"And what affect did losing his . . . adoptive brother have on him?"

Clary shifted uneasily. "It pained him. Alec and Magnus are part of our family."

"So you could say he was distressed? Perhaps even distraught?"

Clary shook her head. "No. He was determined to find them and return them safely."

"So the possibility of losing his brother didn't upset him in anyway?"

"Of course I'm not saying that! He was upset, but he didn't let that upturn him. He worked to get them back."

"And after Sebastian turned up? Was he upset then?"

"Well, he did happen to be bleeding quite badly so I presume he wasn't really thinking about that."

The Inquisitor smiled and nodded towards her, freighting politeness. "So he was injured. And did that have any lasting effect? Was he traumatised?"

"No."

"And after he saw his brother being brought back from the brink of death?"

"No."

"And after he was attacked by Sebastian?"

"No."

"And after he saw you blackout with Sebastian 'speaking' to you?"

"No."

". . . So you're trying to tell me that after everything that has happened to him, it has had no effect?"

"That is correct. Jace is a strong man, he deals with situations presented to him and moves on; he doesn't let them have a lasting effect."

"So how would you explain his current 'situation'? How is he dealing with that?"

Clary paused before answering. "He is injured. Sebastian did something to him. He is not insane neither is he traumatised. Sebastian has some kind of weapon against us. What about these runes? Izzy had one- Alec too- and he tried to put one on me, perhaps he succeeded to put one on Jace. We know he physically attacked and had Jace pinned to the roof in Rome, maybe he put the rune on him then. Maybe the rune is more effective when it's physically placed on the person rather than invading our dreams."

"So Jace is being controlled by Sebastian?"

Clary felt her anger start to bubble in the pit of her stomach. "No. I rather see it that Jace is being tortured rather than controlled. All that has happened is that he's been in great pain and . . ."

She trailed off there, knowing she was walking into the Inquisitors clutches.

"Do finish that sentence, please, Mrs Lightwood." When Clary remained silent he smirked. "Perhaps I shall have to finish it for you. He has been in great pain and he is not right in the head at the moment?"

The Inquisitor was grinning, his chest puffed out as he cornered her.

"Now I know, as we all know, that you love your husband. I would never be stupid enough to contest that, but we do now know that he is not all there, so to speak. He may come back, he may not, I cannot say. But right now, he is not in the right mind, he is a danger to the Clave, yes, but also a danger to himself. He needs help, don't you agree? Don't you want him to get better?" He smiled at her sympathetically. "All I want is for sane people to be in charge. You want your husband to get better. I don't want to revoke his place on the council, just suspend it for the time being, till he gets better. Is that a good idea? For him to get better before he hurts himself or anyone else?"

Clary could feel her own face falling. She knew that the Inquisitor was right, but to push this on to her own husband felt wrong. She bowed her head and the Inquisitor turned to the Council.

"I think this is enough humiliation for this woman for one day, Council."

The Council gathered their heads together for a moment, before the same man that stood before stood up again and spoke.

"It has thus been decided that Jace Lightwood, a Senior Clave member, should be suspended from his position of authority and responsibility in the Clave.

He banged his fist down on the table and the whole Clave stood for the Council members to leave. The silently exited the room, though the woman glanced once at Clary sympathetically. The Inquisitor's sweet smile faded to be replaced by a face twisted into a sneer. He nodded once in Clary's direction, mockingly before sweeping out of the room with his undersecretary.

Clary gazed after his disappearing shape for a second before turning and slowly moving towards Jace, misery seeping through her system. As she reached him she knelt in front of him and cupped his face in her hands, pulling his head up look at her.

"Jace? Can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly before answering. "What's wrong with me, Clary?"

She gently stroked his cheek. "I don't know yet love, but Magnus and I are going to find out together, and then we'll fix this yeah? Don't fret my love." She gently pressed her lips to his and rested her forehead against his, praying to the angel. _Please let Jace get better soon, oh god, I need him._

She stood and gently ruffled his hair before moving over to Magnus.

"Magnus . . . Will you stay? To help Jace?"

Magnus glanced at Alec who shook his head. "Maggie, I have to go to London. They need Jace, but they're going to get me and Iz. But they need Jace which means you need to stay here and help him get better, he has to get better; London will fall without him."

Magnus nodded, pained by the idea of being separated from Alec again for so long. But he gave in. "Yes I'll stay, but we have to work fast."

Clary nodded, understanding that they had no time. In a week or even less there could be a billion demons and Minions in London, which would destroy what was left of the London Institute. Time wasn't their friend at the moment.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

A few days later and Magnus and Clary were in the Library again. Jace was curled up in a sleeping bag on one of the armchairs near to the table that Clary and Magnus were working at. They had hundreds of books stacked on the table, opened at pages with weights keeping them open, or folded in to each other to keep pages that they might need but didn't want open at that second.

Magnus sighed and threw another book across the room where it slowed down and gracefully arched on to its shelf.

"This could take years! We could search for our whole lives, both mine and yours, and we still might not find something."

Clary sighed and leaned back on her chair. "That may be, but we can't give up. If we give up, Jace will never get better."

Magnus solemnly nodded and stood up walking towards Jace. He crouched down beside him, peering at him. Clary watched curiously as he reached forward and slowly drew back the sleeping bag from round his shoulders. Clary gasped at what she saw.

The red rune pulsated and Jace whimpered, tensing in his sleep.

"Mags!"

Magnus nodded, "I see it. Now how do we get rid of it?"

"Didn't Izzy and Alec have one of those?"

Magnus spun smiling at her. "Yes! They did!"

"How did they come off, then?"

Magnus frowned then. "Alec's was cut off, in the attack in Rome. His whole arm was cleaved open." Clary winced but he barely noticed. "But Izzy's . . . I think one of the Silent Brothers took it off her. But I know she was bed ridden for a week afterwards. They only noticed it when she had a small breakdown in the middle of the Shanghai Institute."

"Does Jace need to have a full breakdown before he can be treated or does the thing in the gym count?"

"I hope it does. Come on, you get Jace up to the infirmary, I'll find a Brother."

-x-

-Jump-

-x

A few hours later and they were no nearer to curing Jace.

A small group of Silent Brothers had gathered now, all round the end of Jace's bed, passing ideas backwards and forwards of what to do next. They had tried what they'd done on Izzy, but whilst she had had an immediate reaction, Jace hadn't even woken up. The Brothers concluded that the process was working, just at a much slower rate, and so it would take longer for him to heal. Clary had then explained to them that they didn't have weeks, he was needed in London to ensure the Institute wasn't over run. The Brothers agreed to do what they could, but if he wasn't healed, he wasn't going.

Clary sighed but agreed, understanding that it was more important that Jace lived to fight another day than dying to save the Institute whilst he was half healed.

-x-

**Hey guys :D **

**I know I haven't posted in ages, umm so I did a really big chapter for you, to make up for it. If you guys prefer these longer chapters do let me know and I'll do them like this rather than shorter ones. Though I know my authors notes are really long, this chapter is still about 4500 words of pure story, usually mine are at 3200. Let me know what you think. If you do prefer these I would post not quite as often, as it takes longer for me to come up with all the stuff, but you guys are in for a treat these next few chapters! I have most of the next five chapters done and hope to post them in quick succession! Aren't I good to you . . . sometimes :D **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, will try and keep my promise, 5 days, 5 chapters. Will do my best. Could you do something for me then? Please review? It only takes a few seconds and it really fuels me to write.**

**Umm update in my life anyone? Me and Craig have broken up, my choice. I finished it. Sigh. I never get a break with my love life. Kinda met another guy and really like him, but still really like Craig too, but I didn't think it would be fair on Craig if I was with him, but wanted to be with another guy at the same time, so I took the advice of a friend and decided to be single till I can get my head round it all and decide who I like more.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these perfect couples.**

Clary sat in the chair next to Jace's bed, gently stroking the sleeping boys head. His arms suddenly tensed as his dream shifted, his muscles straining against the leather straps that restrained his body. Clary had been horrified by the Silent Brothers for doing this at first, then, after spending more and more time by his bedside, she understood the need for it. Jace had become increasing more violent whilst recovering from the rune.

The Silent Brothers had been encouraged though, saying that Izzy had also gone through a violent phase, so Jace was getting better. But Clary was still worried. Izzy's violent spell had only lasted less than an hour; Simon had missed the entire thing. Jace had been like this for several days now, swearing, lashing out, he even caught Alec in the face before the Silent Brothers had used restraints to hold him down on the bed. It hurt Clary to have to do that to him, but she understood why he needed it; Alec's eye had puffed up before Magnus had healed it up.

Jace had been spitting and cursing her only an hour ago, but she never yelled back at him, all she could see was the man she loved, the man she married, just lost in his own mind. He had good spells, where he wasn't violent at all, just confused and lost. In one of these he'd apologised to Alec and begged Clary to finish him now.

That had been the hardest time for Clary, convincing Jace that he was going to be better, that he didn't need to be put down. He had been so insistent the last time he'd reduced Clary to tears, from where she ran out of the room, leaving him to beg his death off of the Silent Brothers.

Now, here sat stroking his hair, Clary wondered if she'd made the right decision. She shook herself, _no, Jace will get better. He must get better._

-x-

-Jump

-x-

Clary was getting impatient. The Clave meeting, whilst necessary, was dragging on longer than she had first thought, she wanted to get back to Jace.

The meeting was being held in New York. She was sat in the front left side of a huge arc of old church style benches, tier upon tier of them rising up behind her. The Clave Elders sat in another arc facing the tiers, forming a strange eye shape. As Clary glanced up behind her, she saw hundreds if not thousands of faces, all staring down at the elders or at her. The entire Clave was here, save for Jace; his seat was unoccupied next to her, bare and empty. Clary wished then that he was fine and was here for her. There were ten Elders, all at least sixty years old, and all no longer fought demons which made up the entire Council.

She could see Magnus and Alec sat together across the room, whispering to each other, Izzy and Simon one tier above them, listening intently to what the odd couple were saying. Clary regretted being so important to the Clave now, being unable to be with her friends and take advice and opinions from them. She missed Izzy's inappropriate comments and her and Magnus discussing make-up during the boring bits.

Sighing slightly, she turned her attention back to the man speaking. He was a short stumpy man, dark skinned and thick-hided. He was one of the rogue Shadow hunters that chose to live out with the relative safety of the Institutes, instead travelling as a mundane or living in the wild. Some loved the life, enjoying the freedom and openness. Others simply thought it was safer that way, better to spread out so it would take Valentine longer to ferret them all out. This man originally had lived in and around London, but after the war started, shifted to further West, towards Bristol and Cornwall. The news he brought from those regions was horrific. He had come screaming into the Institute, determined that his story would be heard.

The entire of the Oxfordshire countryside was filled with demons and Minions. There were camps everywhere, thousands upon thousands of demons ripping at forests, attacking unfortunate mundanes that crossed their path. The Minions had the luxury of staying in mundane villages, bed and breakfasts and such.

Valentine had massed an army to wipe out the London Institute once and for all.

This thought had caused quite the stir throughout the Clave; most of the Elders had thought that Valentine would be content with slowly digging them out, never going for the full scale war idea. Their reasoning being that Valentine didn't want the mundanes to detect the Shadow world any more than the Clave did. _It seems now he doesn't care._

The Clave was now in uproar about how to defend themselves. London was the last Institute in Britain, and the Clave was determined not to lose it.

The rogue Shadow hunter was speaking now, describing the forces that he saw.

"- then there were strange bear like demons, huge things with massive thick arms and blue glowing eyes. I could have sworn one-"

"Thank you! Now tell me, Mr Greyfell, did you see any greater demons?" The Inquisitor was stood facing the man, leaning against the left side of the main semi-circle, not three feet from Clary,- Mr Greyfell- who was standing in the centre of the two semi-circles.

"Yes. Many. For every grouping of demons there was one greater demon, I presume that it was in charge."

"And how did you decide that?"

Clary still held some contempt towards the Inquisitor after what he put her and Jace through over his illness, but she saw his true worth now. He could wheedle what seemed the most insignificant fact out of the person being questioned, who had thought that the detail was irrelevant.

"Because . . . all the little demons were milling around the greater demons, bringing them things and the like."

"Things?"

Mr Greyfell shuffled uncomfortably, not answering.

"Mr Greyfell, please answer the question."

After a long pause, he spoke again. "Bodies. Bodies of mundanes. The greater demons had . . . had first bite."

A murmur ran through the crowd, a few gasps of disgust. The Council even looked shocked. They leaned their heads together for a moment before calling the Inquisitor over to speak to him in private. Then the head of the Council stood, waving the Inquisitor away, to speak to the collective.

"It has been made clear to us, my fellow brothers and sisters in arms, that Valentine no longer cares for the secrecy that our world demands. He will rip open our world and destroy the life that we have striven to protect for uncountable generations, since Jonathan Shadow hunter! He will expose us to the mundanes, and they will be dragged into a war they will not understand or be able to compete in. They have their weapons of fire, their guns and missiles, but these will do no good against any demon. They will be slaughtered. They will be divided too. Who says that when the mundanes discover this world they will side with either us or Valentine? Some countries may back us, some may back Valentine, they might be their own force by themselves, causing three factions to go to war.

"We must prevent this at all costs. I do not believe that the mundanes will be capable of keeping their noses out of this war, once they learn of it, they will hold one or both sides responsible for the loss of the mundane life because of our internal conflict. The concealment of our world must be our top priority.

"But we cannot lose the London Institute. This is one of our last Institutes, the last in Britain, the last in Europe. Paris fell, Berlin is long lost and we may never claim Rome back, but we must not lose London! It was the first Institute to be created, the first to work with Downworlders and the first to have the idea of moving underground to protect ourselves. London is our ancestral home and we shall not give it up!"

A cheer rose up from the Clave, with members standing up and clapping.

"We shall reclaim this world from the demons grasp! Valentine has terrorized us for too long! Too long have we been scurrying about in the darkness, fretting as he and his bastard of a son slaughter us and the mundanes! Too long have we been the weak opponent, scared of committing to a fight. But now we are cornered and will we give in?! Will we give in?!"

A roar rose from the crowd, deafening and consuming, drowning out Clary's thoughts as she sat, staring at the floor. She didn't know what to do. Magnus, Alec and Izzy were all calling with the rest, but Simon was sat staring at Clary, a look of horror on his face.

Clary knew that this wasn't the usual Clave style, but maybe that's what they needed right now, London was going to be slaughtered otherwise. Clary sighed and stood up, sliding her way through the people on the front row.

"Mrs Lightwood? May I ask where you are going?" The standing Elder had locked eyes with her, but Clary didn't feel afraid.

"I'm going to be with my husband."

The Elder puffed his chest out, but remained silent, allowing her to leave without a fight. She walked out of the room and quickly made her way to Jace's hospital room. There she met a shocking sight.

Jace was sat up in bed, calmly talking to one of the Silent Brothers.

Clary stopped and smiled. Jace was gazing up at her, his cocky grin firmly planted on his face.

"Hey firebug."

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

"Mags!"

Magnus looked up from the stack of books, his eyes blurry from lack of sleep. Alec had walked into the room, a huge grin on his face.

"What is it, love?"

"It's Jace!"

Magnus' head jerked up. _Oh shit no! He can't be . . . oh god, poor Clary!_ Alec took in Magnus' expression and began to giggle.

"What? Why are you laughing?!"

Alec suppressed his giggles long enough to explain. "Jace's fine! Like brilliant! His violent phase is over! Still got some trust issues but he's getting there. He's going to be fine."

Magnus sighed with relief and slumped over his books, unable to support himself for a moment.

"I've just spent hours researching anything that would help him. Was it all for nothing? Damn, oh well at least he's better."

Alec laughed once then cuddled his boyfriend from behind, gently kissing the top of his head. Magnus sat up and leaned his head back against Alec's, softly humming an old lullaby. Magnus closed his eyes and Alec started gently playing with his hair, spiking it up then smoothing it down again.

There was a cough at the doorway. Alec turned round to see a messenger stood in the door way, blushing slightly.

"Sirs, the Council has called a meeting, both of you are requested to be there." He bowed to them and swiftly left.

Magnus turned round to face Alec who shrugged, not knowing what the meeting is about either.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Clary was sitting next to Jace on his hospital bed, watching gleefully as the Silent Brothers searched through Jace's mind, trying to repair the damage that the rune had left.

Finally the Silent Brother who was hunting through his head stood up straight and Jace relaxed slightly. Then after a few moments silence, he spoke.

_There are still echoes of the rune inside his mind. He is not fully healed, but he is on the mend._

Clary sighed in relief and turned to Jace, grinning. "You're going to be fine love."

Jace grinned back at her and swooped her up into his arms, kissing her forehead and nuzzling into her. They stayed there for a few seconds before the Silent Brother spoke to them both.

_He is not fully healed; I would like to remind you. The rune will still affect him sometimes; he still might have funny turns occasionally. _

Clary nodded, understanding that he was not running at full capacity. She kissed the side of his jaw, holding him close to her. "I've missed you so much."

Jace kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you too, firebug. What have I missed?"

Clary sighed before speaking. "So much. You know the situation with London? Where you couldn't get in or out without being attacked?" Jace nodded once, remembering his turn in the river Themes. "Well . . . it's got a lot worse. Demons and Minions now control most of London-"

"What?!"

"They took over, love. There are thousands of the foul things running through the streets, attacking mundanes at will, but that's not the worst bit."

"How can it get any worse?"

Clary drew back slightly to gaze into his eyes. "They're going to destroy the London Institute."

Jace looked horrified. "But- but . . . How?! How could the Clave not hold it? They can't be that strong in numbers . . . can they?"

Clary nodded. "The surrounding countryside is filled with demons. There are thousands of minor demons and greater demons, led by Minions to destroy the London Institute. Maybe even the whole of London."

Jace whipped his head back and forwards, unable to believe that they could lose one of their last Institutes.

There was a cough and a messenger was stood in the door.

"Sir, Madame? The Council is holding a meeting. Both of you are requested to be there." He bowed to them both and left the room.

Clary turned to Jace, smiling.

"What are you grinning at, little firebug?"

Clary wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head into his shoulder. "They're accepting you back, making you part of the Clave again."

"I stopped being part of the Clave?"

Clary laughed and pulled a very confused Jace close to her, kissing his neck and holding him close.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Clary walked hand in hand with Jace into the Council room, laughing and just enjoying his company. She looked around and saw the happy faces of her friends and family. Izzy squealed and wrapped her arms around Clary, laughing and smiling. Magnus came over and stood grinning at her, whilst Izzy was speaking a mile a minute about how happy she was for her. Alec was stood talking quietly to Jace with Simon hovering nearby, hands in pocket, relaxed. Jace looked a bit sheepish for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Sorry."

Alec looked a little confused. "What for?"

"For hitting you."

Alec laughed. "It wasn't your best hit."

Jace grinned again and laughed with his brother, happy that he'd been forgiven.

A Council member cleared their throat, catching everyone's attention.

"Now that everyone is here, we would like to commence this meeting." Everyone turned to face him as he paused. "Now, first things first. Mr Lightwood?"

Alec and Jace looked at each other; unsure of whom he was talking to. The Council member sighed.

"Jace Lightwood." Jace smiled and waved a bit. "The Council has heard of your recovery and is satisfied that you will be in full health in a few more days. Therefore that Council has decided to reinstate your Clave membership to what it was before your unfortunate incident."

Jace dipped his head in thanks towards the Council and moved over to Clary, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Now, to the matters in hand, the matter of the London Institute. Mr Lightwood- Jace- I presume that your wife has brought you up to speed?" Jace nodded. "Good. Well the Council has called you here today to help us combat the threat posed in London. Valentine has amassed an army to destroy London, not just the Institute our spies have learnt, but also a large part of the city surrounding the Institute."

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Maia was gently using her tools to try and pick the lock of her cell. She knew that Sebastian was gone, that he wouldn't be back for a few days, off on something really big by the way he acted. He had been so giddy and excited, saying to her over and over again how he was going to make his father proud. Maia had been sickened by it, knowing that he was about to deliver a horrible blow to the Clave. She had to get out and warn them, they might already know that Valentine was planning something, but what about Sebastian? She had to get out and warn them.

Sebastian had given her a few whole meals over the last few days, watching her like a hawk the first few times; chicken, mash potatoes, even Lamb shanks once. But every time she kept the bones off the meat, if there were any. They were now hidden under her pillow, making the perfect lock picking tools.

But she was having no luck. They kept breaking; all but a few chicken ones and the lamb one were left. She learnt that the lamb bone was the strongest so she was using that bone to twist the lock and was using the more fragile chicken ones to jimmy the lock open. She nearly had it once, but the bone had snapped at the last second, frustrating her no end.

She was knelt on the floor now, sweat dripping off her forehead the level on concentration she was acting on. _Come on!_

There was a loud click and the lock sprung free. Maia gently pushed the door open and grinned.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Clary carefully strapped her favourite sword onto her belt and reached for some other assorted weapons; a few throwing knives, a couple of throwing stars, a stele and her long dagger that substituted for her sword if she lost it.

Across the room she could see Alec and Jace exchanging runes, Alec with his bow strapped across back a quiver at his left shoulder and a half-hand sword lightly swinging from his waist. Jace had his double swords crossed over his back along with throwing knives strapped along the front straps. A stele hung from Alec's belt and Jace's was in his hand. Izzy was in the corner, her arms wrapped around Simon; her runes and weapons already sorted. Her whip hung loosely from her belt and a bow on her back. A quiver slung around her waist and a short sword clipped just beneath it. They all had their Shadow hunting gear on, including Simon who'd been given a set. All accept Magnus.

Magnus was stood finishing his makeup to one side, not even bothering to look concerned about the up and coming battle. Clary smiled at the sight before drawing her stele and carefully decorating her arm with the correct shapes. She felt someone behind her and twisted to see Jace just behind her, reaching to put his arms around her. He leant his forehead against hers and kissed the end of her nose, his eyes closed.

Clary glanced around them and saw the others cuddling up; stealing what could be there last few moments with each other. She wrapped her arms around Jace tightly and leaned up on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear.

"You promise me you'll come back safely?"

"I promise, firebug."

"And if you feel a funny turn coming on you'll back out?"

Jace tensed and opened his eyes, pleading with her not to make him.

"Please Jace? For me?"

Jace looked pained for a second but didn't say anything, not wanting to give in, but not wanting to hurt her.

"Will you at least come and find me, or Alec?"

He smiled then and nodded slowly. "I promise, love."

A Clave runner came in panting. "It's open! The Portal! It's open. The Battle has started."

-x-

**There you go guys. Hope you liked it! Please review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, missed nattering on at you guys, sorry my exams start soon and I have to kinda get good results to get into the uni I want. But here we are!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine unfortunately. **

Clary stared at the swirling portal, muttering and worrying. Alec and Jace had gone through together a few minutes ago, Simon and Izzy were next to go through with a large group of Shadow hunters. Then Clary and Magnus would go through with the last group of Shadow hunters to go through.

Jeffery was on the other side of the portal keeping it open, but the deal was it couldn't stay open for more than 3 minutes, so the groups were staggered by a minute. Clary hated not knowing what was happening with Jace, the idea that he was laying hurt out there somewhere was chewing away at her insides. Or that he could be having another funny turn and getting himself injured at the same time. Horrible thoughts swirled around and around her head, like the patterns on the portal.

She jumped as a hand clapped down on her shoulder. Magnus stood next to her, his eyebrows raised.

"You're a little tense."

Clary sighed. "Don't you worry about Alec?"

"All the time."

"Then how do you look so relaxed?"

Magnus grinned. He tapped his heart. "I can feel him in here. I did a spell a few years back, lets me know how he is. I only start worrying if my heart starts hurting, that means he's in pain."

Clary smiled. "Kinda like the marriage runes?"

Magnus' ears went a little pink. "Well . . . Umm- yeah- umm I guess you could see it- them- it like that."

Clary laughed. "I say if you save London you should just marry him."

Magnus spluttered and was about to answer when another voice spoke over him.

"I agree." Izzy was stood a few feet away from them, Simon just behind her. "You should marry him either way. Stuff London. Just marry him."

Magnus shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"You and Simon haven't considered it for the same reason."

Izzy and Simon shuffled uncomfortably for a few seconds before the whistle blew and they turned away, heading for the portal.

"Wait! Si, Iz!" The couple paused and faced her before heading through. "Find Jace will you? Make sure he's ok?"

They nodded then dived through the portal just before the last member of their group.

Magnus sighed and sat back, his head in his hands. Clary cocked her eyebrow at him, coaxing an explanation out of him.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I wish I could just marry him. I love him, as much as you love Jace, but we have two things against us. The Clave won't let us marry because we're a gay Shadow hunter-Downworlder couple, and I'm immortal, Clary. Alec isn't. That means someday I will see him die when I don't look a day older. I understand that almost the same applies to you and Jace, one of you will eventually see the other die- I'm sure not for many, many years- but still. Say it's you. You'll be sitting by Jace's bed side as he peacefully passes away in his sleep or such, but you will have the knowledge that you will not be long after, that you should then only have a few years or less, because you're as old as him. I will sit by Alec's bedside like this, as old as I am now, nothing will have changed for me."

Clary hung her head, unable to find a way around her friend's problem. So she sat silent instead, trying to form words in her head that would lessen the pain. But none came. Then the whistle came to alert them that it was their turn to go through the portal.

She stood, but grasped Magnus' arm, holding him back as the others pushed forward.

"Wait . . .Mag's . . . we'll sort this out, yeah? Everything's going to be fine. You and Alec are made for each other and there isn't anything that can get in between you two, yeah?"

Magnus smiled and hugged her tightly, grateful for her comforting words. "Come on, we've got a battle to win." Clary grinned at him before pulling him through the portal.

-x-

-Jump

-x-

Maia stood still for another heartbeat, waiting for the guard to move past her before slipping up the corridor, heading for the next flight of stairs.

She'd been moving about this maze of prison cells for hours now, having finally worked out the system where the staircases to get to the next level where on opposite ends of the corridor. Made sense from the guards' point of view, any escapees would have to pass every guard in the complex to get out. There had been one stationary guard positioned at the bottom of the stair case leading up and away from her level, which she'd used to her advantage. She'd leapt on him and killed him by quickly snapping his neck. There had been no noise and no blood. Then she'd dragged his body into her cell and pulled the blankets over him so he looked like her if any guards came down here. Then she'd slipped up the stairs and was taking her time across the corridors, being extra careful not to be caught. A couple of prisoners had seen her so far, and whilst they'd been very surprised, none had called on the guards yet.

She was crouching in the shadows waiting for the pair of guards on this floor to pass her so she could silently slip past them without them even noticing. This had worked on the last two floors and she was hoping that it would work on how ever many floors there were. She shuffled slightly in the shadows, bored and annoyed that they were taking so long.

She watched lazily as they passed her by, completely oblivious to the fact that the most precious prisoner in the complex was escaping- excruciatingly slowly, but still escaping. She slipped past them and silently paced backwards, having partially shifted, making her feet paws to muffle her footsteps. Maia knew that she only had a few days from when Sebastian left, and she judged that a day had passed since he'd vanished; this worried her as it meant that she'd been wandering around the levels for most of that day. If it took her that long to only go up two levels, how long would it take to go up however many there were? And would her luck hold out?

Maia was worried.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Seconds after stepping through the portal, Clary was thrown into the middle of chaos. There were bodies everywhere. Only half of them were alive. She dived to one side to avoid being crushed by a huge demon and rolled away from its flailing arms. _Damn that was close._ Clary knew this was going to be a long and bloody battle even before she'd sunk her sword into anything.

Clary darted down a corridor and ran up a demon's back looking around for Jace quickly before she plunged her sword straight through the demons neck. It vanished and she was roughly deposited on the floor, the Shadow hunter it had been about to eat was lying dazed on the ground. Clary reached down and grasped his forearm, helping them stand up before she darted off again. She was worried about Jace. It was too easy for him to have a funny turn out here and get himself hurt.

She glimpsed golden hair as she sprinted past another alley and skidded to a halt, back tracking to see if it was indeed him.

It wasn't. It was a bulky Minion stood taunting a much smaller Clave Shadow hunter. Clary felt her blood boil and slunk forwards, waiting till the Minion raised the stupidly curved and spiky club he was wielding above his head before she drove her sword through his stomach.

"Next time, pick on someone your own size." She hissed in his ear as he collapsed to the floor, a look of shock etched on his face.

She turned to the Shadow hunter she'd saved and was surprised at what she saw. It was a kid, scrawny and lanky with practically no muscle or any meat on his tiny frame. He had a shock of ginger hair and was struggling to heft the huge sword he had up to a ready position. To Clary he couldn't have been more than 12.

"Hey, kid, you shouldn't be out here, get down into the Institute."

"I'm not a kid! And I can't go back to the Institute, it's overrun."

"What?!"

"The Institute. It's been overrun with demons. A greater Demon beat down the North tunnel and let in its cluster of Demons. They started slaughtering everyone in there. So I ran."

Clary looked horrified. "Right . . . oh Angel. Well, umm . . . what do we do about you?"

"I've had training! I don't need babysitting!"

Clary raised her eyebrows at him. "Seriously? How old are you kid?"

"Stop calling me that! And I'm 15."

"You're 15? Seriously? Fine, but you can't keep fighting with that. And keep calling you what?"

"Kid. My names Finn."

"It's nice to meet you Finn, but you still can't keep fighting, and I can't keep chatting to you all day."

The kid- Finn- grumbled at Clary for a moment before giving in and dropping the too big sword on the floor. He folded his arms and went into a sulk. Clary chuckled slightly and began leading him back to where Jeffery had been standing. She spotted him letting a few injured people back through the portal to New York. Clary waved to attract his attention.

"Jeffery! Jeffery! Keep it open, got a little one to go through!"

Jeffery nodded and motioned for her to hurry up. Clary dragged Finn across the courtyard towards Jeffery, glancing about for any sort of danger. That's when she saw it. There was a demon crouched in the shadows, preparing to pounce on Jeffery.

Clary thrust her sword into Finn's arms, his eyes going wide as saucers as she said; "Here, hold this."

She reached to her belt and unhooked a throwing knife, aim and paused, waiting for the demon to take just that one more step closer. It leapt and Clary threw the blade. It landed squarely in the demons chest. Jeffery heard its dying cry and twisted round in time to see it explode into dust. He froze for a second and then turned back to Clary grinning.

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome." She took her sword back from Finn and ushered him towards the portal. "Go on kid, stay safe."

"I will! Wait!"

Clary stopped walking away and turned back to him. "Yeah?"

"Who are you?"

She grinned slowly, a perfect imitation of Jace's cocky grin. "I'm Clarissa Lightwood."

The shock registered on his face before Jeffery pushed him through the portal. Clary laughed slightly before nodding her thanks to Jeffery and heading back out to find Jace.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

A few hours later, though it felt like days, Clary still hadn't found him. She had heard from people who had seen him who kept pointing her in the right direction but she never caught up with him and just ended up going in circles. Then a voice rang out over the crowd towards her.

"Clary!" Magnus' voice called out over the street, above the heads of the fighters that littered the courtyard.

Clary spun round at the sound and saw Magnus curling his way through the crowd towards her, jabbing at any Minions or demons which were close enough with the wickedly sharp dagger he was holding. The Warlock's expression was grim and he paused to wipe a smear of blood off his cheek.

"Mags! Are you alright?"

Magnus smiled weakly at her and tugged her into a deserted alley, a few metres away from the fight, where they could talk without being interrupted.

"The Clave needs you to go back into the Institute."

"What?! The place is collapsing! It's a death trap, Magnus!"

"Jeffery and a few of the council members are still down there. We have to get them out, we need them, but we can't get through to Jeffery. Your orders are to find Jace and head down there with Alec and Thomas. Ok? Alec and Thomas are waiting for you at the South East entrance of the Institute, the one back down by the river, alright?"

". . . Alright, got it. Where can I find Jace?"

"I have no idea. I can't single him out with so many people constantly moving here, but traces aren't working either, something to do with him being so . . . wrong at the moment. You got any idea if he's going to be ok? I know what the Silent Brothers did is slowly working, but is it enough to keep him alive in this fight?"

Clary pursed her lips. "I don't know. I bloody hope so, but I really don't know, Mags. It's just so messed up. Why is his rune so much harder to get off than Izzy's? Is it because of the physical contact thing, or is it just Jace? I just wish he'd go back to being his normal self."

"You mean an arrogant, insensitive, selfish, know-it-all?"

Clary couldn't help but laugh. "Magnus! A little sympathy please for the man I love please. No, I mean I know he is all those thing- well I object to selfish- but he is really in bad shape at the moment. At least before he was normal, funny and stuff."

"Normal?"

"Sh! Leave him be. It's just now he's weird. Even if he's got a bit better, he still doesn't trust me, like he suspects me of doing things behind his back, and he's not telling me everything. We always shared everything, no matter what it is, but now he won't tell me, and I find out second hand from the person who's saying the stuff or been hit by Jace, it's horrible thinking of what else he could have hid from me. It's just not right."

"Well I agree with you there. He isn't right in the head still is he?" He quickly added, though, when Clary scowled at him; "I'm not saying he's crazy or mad, I'm just saying I think that something, probably set up by Valentine or Sebastian, has mucked this all up and made Jace like this. Don't fret though, hun, we'll sort it out, he'll get better and go back to his usual self in no time, don't worry."

"We have to fix it." Clary looked pleadingly at Magnus.

"Hey! I've done all I can! If I start randomly healing him or pushing magic into him I'll probably just kill him." His expression softened before he continued. "Hun, if I knew how to help, you know I would, right?"

Clary nodded, "Yeah, I'm just so worried about him, Mags. I wish I knew how to just clean it all away."

"Right now you need to find Jace and get down into the Institute to find Jeffery. We'll sort everything out with Jace after we're not being attacked by a large army of Valentine followers."

Clary giggled slightly before composing herself. "Why does everything major in my life seem to happen in the middle of an attack?" Magnus chuckled with her for a few seconds. "Ok, I'll have a look for say five minutes, but after that we'll just head down without him."

". . . Alright. Just be careful." Magnus looked worried.

"We'll be fine." And with that Clary turned away from the sparkling Warlock and began weaving through the crowds of fighting people, searching for Jace.

Clary had made it to an opening in the narrow alley ways, away from the first courtyard and into a much smaller one, where several demons were leaping and lunging at a group of five Clave members. Clary paused in her direction to turn to aid them when a Minion jumped her from behind.

He wrapped his arms around her wrist and threw her across the space where she cracked into the stone floor, her head taking a lot of the force. She gasped in pain and curled away from him for a second before regaining her senses and rolled to dodge the axe that was bearing down on her. It missed her head by centimetres, but caught her hair, ripping a little bit out. Clary spat a goblet of blood out of her mouth and went to push herself up with her arm. Red hot pain spurted up her arm and she fell back down, unable to support her weight on that arm. The axe was arching through the air again, aiming for her throat. She rolled to the side to avoid the deadly blow. Clary cradled her right arm to her chest, cursing her right-handedness, and carefully pushed herself up with her left, pushing herself further and further away from the Minion as she did so.

Clary staggered fully up-right and ducked quickly as the weapon whistled past her head. This movement, however, was too fast for her body to cope with and her head swam, unable to focus on the man charging at her, the light of the axe the only constant.

Clary caught flash of silver speeding towards her, so she stepped backwards rapidly. Her foot snagged on some piece of debris on the ground and she went tumbling to the floor again. This time she looked up slowly, still protecting her broken wrist, holding it out of the way. Her vision pulled back to normal and she saw the Minion staring down at her, a sickly sneer carved on to his face. He knew that she didn't stand a chance; her weapon was long lost in the confusion of the wall collision, her right arm was as good as useless at the moment, an easy target, and her vision still fuzzed over every few seconds. He lashed out with his foot, toying with her rather than finishing her with his axe, and caught her wrist. Clary cried out loud and was pushed down so she was lying on her back, her head connecting again with the concrete floor. Then the man pressed his foot down on top of her wrist and stomach, pinning her whilst she screamed in agony.

He slowly raised the axe so it was above his head, ready to bring it down and cleave Clary in half whilst she squirmed beneath him, unable to twist out from under his crushing weight. He grinned once again and pressed even harder with his foot, all of his weight on her broken wrist. Clary could hear the bones splintering as she screamed again, writhing beneath him, her eyes full of fear.

_If I die I'll never see Jace again._ Clary's breath came in short pants as she tried to comprehend this idea. _I'll never see him again. No future, no family, no love. I'll die and never see _my _Jace again. No! I- this can't be it, I have to- why can't I . . . I can't leave him!_

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Magnus fled away from the pack of demons that was chasing after him. He ran down a street and twisted into an alley, begging that the demons wouldn't catch his scent. Unfortunately they did.

Magnus had tackled the group to save Alec from them. He bumped into Alec and Thomas a few moments after he'd finished talking with Clary and had sent them off in the right direction, catching the attention of the demon pack to stop them chasing the pair down. Now he was running very low on magic, physically exhausted and lost. He had lived in London for many years of his life, but he'd never run so hard in his life before, never ran without looking. He guessed he was quite far from the Institute by now, somewhere on the North side of London. But he wasn't familiar with most of it, having lived in New York for most of the modern day and he didn't know this new part of London.

He twisted round, his leather trousers snagging on something for a second and he grumbled, ripping them free, tearing a hole in them.

"Damn . . . I liked that pair."

There was a low growl behind him and he saw one of the demons, one of the stragglers, stalking towards him, limping slightly as it slunk towards him. It stopped a few feet from him, weighing up its chances against him. Then it took the worst decision for Magnus. It howled for the rest of its pack, drawing them towards Magnus.

"Oh shit."

Magnus turned and ran, just catching the sight of the rest of the pack appearing around the corner, mouths hanging slack, great goblets of darkened spittle splattering down onto the cobblestones below. He sprinted headlong along the cobbled street. He caught a glimpse of something down one of the roads, something he recognised. He twisted to the left, heading towards the familiarity, the pack snapping at his heels.

The Royal Air Force Museum stood before him, lit up for the world to see. Magnus ran down the path leading to it, lights catching the sparkles on his shirt, some twinkling red with stains. He stumbled once and felt the lead mutt howl with pleasure, taking a leap at him and missing by inches. Magnus knew this was going to be a tight call; he could only pray that he'd remembered where it was.

-x-

**Sorry I have to leave it there but otherwise this chapters going to be far too long.**

**Umm guys? Where's all my reviews? I've posted three chapters up in three days and haven't had a single review :(**

**Hope you guys like it!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Life update at the end, but otherwise enjoy!**

**Love the review from **Mads-hatter-15 **absolute loved it :D please more? Really want to know what you guys think of these chapters considering this is the biggest thing I've done with my little puppets.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own . . . I think the only thing I don't own anymore is the original characters and the idea of Shadow hunters, everything else I've changed :)**

Magnus saw the door and reached out, going to force the locked doors open, but they didn't budge. _Shittttt!_ He ran towards them anyway, slowing down slightly till the new lead mutt was right on his heels. The door was a few feet away when Magnus ducked and skidded to a halt, begging that the demon didn't just chomp him down. Luckily the demon had leapt, trying to get the first bite. Now it sailed over his head and hit the glass doors mille-seconds before Magnus hit it. The glass smashed and Magnus skidded along the ground before going into a roll, somehow managing to miss all seven of the snapping jaws that were crashing together over him, one actually catching his hair and snipping a small bit off.

He thumped along the floor, stopping a few feet from the stunned heap of demons, before he dashed to his feet and began sprinting through the flight museum, passing under the suspended airplanes. He ducked under one of low wings and set off through the museum, weaving about, looking for the markers that were always near what he was looking for.

There hadn't always been a museum. Before the RAF museum had been erected in 1972 it had been a simple warehouse. There the Fairy population in London had made an entrance to their home, and had told Magnus about it. But upon the museum being built, the Fairies decided instead of moving the entrance, they would incorporate it into the museum. It seemed amusing to most who knew about it, considering the tunnel actually came out of a janitor's cupboard that no one could ever seem to open. Nobody really cared for it, always presuming that it was someone else's job to deal with it.

Magnus paused behind a pillar, breathing hard, his back slap against the stone. He knew the mutts weren't too far behind him, but he'd been using what little magic he had to erase his scent trail and such to buy him some time. He was in a completely different hanger now, having lost them around the history hall, which had bought him the time to cast the spell. He could hear one of the mutts- presumably a scout- snuffling about a few metres behind him, trying to pick up some sort of scent. It whined once, unable to find anything, and took off back towards the pack.

Magnus sighed in relief and silently crept across the hall, heading towards the modern aircraft room, where the closet was. He grinned slightly at the thought of it and was slightly thankful for the mutts having . . . disposed of the night guards; he didn't have the energy or magic to prevent them from alerting the demons to where he was. The aircraft cables creaked slightly and Magnus froze.

One of the mutts was at the far end of the hall, heading out of the hall and away from Magnus. It couldn't see him at the moment but he knew it would look back soon and see him. He had a choice; sit here behind the pillar and wait for it to go away or go for the door and hope the faeries would let him in before the mutt got to him. He glanced behind him and saw the jaw of another demon coming round the corner, heading straight towards him. _Ok option one is out._

Magnus made a decision and went for the door. He slipped on the floor and cracked down on the floor. He glanced up and saw the demon at the end of the hall had swung round at the noise and was staring at him, frozen, waiting for him to move.

Magnus made another decision and shot up as fast as he could; skidding towards the janitor's door he'd been looking for. As he moved he heard a crash behind him and saw the mutt that he'd seen heading towards him from the rear before it crashed into the patch of floor he'd been crouched on not two seconds before. _Good decision._ It collided hard with the marble-like floor and slid across the ground completely dazed, yelping slightly before coming into contact with an engine display. The display won the fight.

However Magnus knew he had bigger things to worry about. He was still running towards the door and saw the other mutt getting the hang of half running across the slippery floor. It was getting dangerously close now.

Magnus dived for the cupboard handle, felt the mental probe push into his brain as he frantically chanted the correct poem. He could see the mutt galloping towards him, getting closer every second. Then the door clicked, allowing him in. Magnus yanked the door open and twisted inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He heard the mutt skidding across the polished floor before crashing into the door, a loud thud issued as it hit the floor, then silence. Magnus sighed with relief and tried to catch his breath.

Turning slowly, he saw a knight from the London Faerie court approaching him; a sword out and ready. Magnus raised his hands slowly before bowing low to the knight. After a moment's pause the knight sheathed his weapon and returned the bow.

Then he spoke. "Greetings, Warlock. May I inquire of your business here?"

Magnus grinned slowly before answering, remembering his manners. "I do apologise for such an . . . importune arrival, but I was well and truly cornered with no place else to turn."

The knight remained silent, waiting for more of an explanation. So Magnus elaborated. "I am drained of my magic and was hoping for some assistance, I had a pack of demon mutts on my trail trying to tear me apart. I would also like to speak to the Queen about the battle raging on your doorstep."

The knight raised his eyebrows at Magnus, amused by his abandonment of manners. "This way Warlock. We will help you regain your powers most certainly, but I cannot say if the Queen would want to speak to you."

Magnus bowed to him again. "My many thanks, good knight. Will you lead on?"

The knight smiled and nodded setting off down the corridor with Magnus a few steps behind him. Magnus was bored after a few seconds of silence and so went to start a conversation.

"So how are things? I mean how's the war affecting you down here?"

"We are doing just fine, thank you. We are grateful for your concern though."

Magnus nearly laughed but thought better of it. "I'm glad to hear that. And how is Nerphina? Is her cooking just as good as it used to be?"

Nerphina was the Queen's private cook, but she had been good friends with Magnus for many years. She often sent him food when he lived in London.

"She is well. I am afraid to say that I have never had the privilege of tasting anything she has created."

"Shame, she'd brilliant."

"And how is your young Shadow hunter consort?"

"He's not my consort, he's my partner. And he's good."

The knight nodded slowly before lapsing back into silence. Magnus left it that way this time; he didn't want to hear the rumours going round about him and Alec. Not that it would affect anything; he just didn't want to end up hitting someone when he was fairly sure he needed their help badly.

After a few minutes more they walked into an open chamber, a huge table sat in the middle of it. Food piled on the table, glorious displays of fruit, cooked meats, and pastries galore. A huge roast pig sat in the middle, an apple in its mouth and a carving knife set next to it. Goblets ran round the table and pitchers of sweet wine sat at intervals along the table, inviting people to sit and drink. The table was surrounded by wooden seats that matched the table, but they were empty. Only one was occupied.

The Faerie Queen sat at the head of the table, gently plopping pieces of fruit into her mouth.

She was in a full length, moss green dress with emeralds shimmering along its length, creating beautiful swirling patterns across it. Magnus smiled once at it and waited at the entrance to the room whilst the knight headed up to the Queen.

He dropped to one knee and after she waved him up, he leaned in to whisper in her ear. He spoke for a long time and during this time her soft expression that was on her face was replaced with one of hatred. Magnus grew wary and shifted on his feet as the Queen waved the knight away and set her fork down. The knight retreated, bowing, and took his place around the side of the room with the other knights.

"So . . ." Her voice was clear and high, like the sound when one strikes a crystal glass. Magnus felt the lure of her power, but resisted, remembering why he had come here. "It would seem that we have not just a mighty Warlock in our presence, but a mighty High Warlock . . . in much trouble so it seems. Such a powerful Warlock, nae such a powerful High Warlock should not run so low on energy, does one not think?"

Magnus bowed low to her, and held the bow, waiting to be called up. She didn't keep him waiting long.

"Rise."

Magnus did as she asked and inclined his head towards her while he spoke, both as a sign of respect and to resist the constant nagging sensation that he should just give into her completely. He knew this was again just her power, but in his weakened state he was having difficulty looking at her without his will crumpling.

"I would like to thank your majesty for graciously allowing me into your palace. It is an honour to be here." He had to resist adding _my Queen _on to the end of the sentence but he managed.

"The pleasure is mine."

Magnus inclined his head a little more before raising it again. "I would like to humbly ask the Queen for your assistance. As your majesty has already noticed, I am drained and dangerously low on energy, I would ask of your help to restore me of my powers."

The Queen twisted her head to one side, pursing her lips slightly as she did so. "It will be done. I hope that you will remember this favour I have done you, High Warlock, and will not hesitant to help me in my time of need, should I ask."

"Of course, your majesty."

The Queen nodded, but her advisors shook their heads, displeased with her decision. A murmur ran along the line of advisors that made up her council behind her.

"Is the council displeased with my decision?" The Queen demanded.

One advisor, stood in the middle of the line and obviously in charge, stepped forwards to address the Queen. He bowed to her as Magnus had and waited for her to call him to his feet. To most people's surprise she didn't.

Instead she proffered a seat for Magnus, right next to her. Magnus smiled. She had pulled the advisor out to prevent anymore talking to be allowed, but hadn't allowed him to stand so he couldn't contradict her decision. Magnus sat next to her and dipped his head to her again.

"My many thanks, your majesty; it truly is an honour to sit at your table."

"You sat here once before, did you not?"

Magnus nodded, remembering that he once held a place on the Queen's council. "It was an honour then and I was sorry to let it go."

The Queen nodded slowly before leaning forwards and plucking a grape from one of the bunches on the table. She brought it to her lips and slowly breathed over it, imbuing it with power. She breathed heavily for a second before handing the grape to Magnus.

Magnus paused before eating it. If he ate it he would have his powers back, but he would only be allowed to leave if the Queen wished. If he didn't he could leave but he would be in the same position as he was before. _Oh well, time to make some friends._ He plopped the grape into his mouth and sighed with relief as he felt power coursing through his veins, bringing back his magic. What he found surprising was the sheer amount of it. He struggled to push the excess into the crystal he had on his belt to store such energy in case of an emergency. Then he glanced at his arms and saw his cuts were also healed, the Queen had healed him. Magnus stared at her in wonder, trying to comprehend why such kindness was being shown. The Queen of the Seelie Court in New York was manipulative and greedy, even dark by many people's standards; she took what she wanted when she wanted.

But Magnus had always known that the Queen of the London Court, or the London Queen as she allowed others to call her, was not as vicious or as self-centred. But no Faerie was truly kind. Anything they did was for their own personal gain. Magnus was afraid. _What does she want from me?_

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

She stared up at the Minion and saw the gleam in his eyes. He was enjoying himself, dragging it out for as long as possible.

"It's all over for you now, Angel Child. First you, then the mighty Sebastian will deliver the crushing blow to your ridiculous Clave. One more step and it shall all be done!" His last smile flashed across his face and Clary closed her eyes, unable to watch her undoing.

There was a soft thud and Clary winced, but no pain came. The Minion stepped off of her and something wet dripped down on to her face. Another clatter and she opened her eyes.

The Minion had dropped the axe behind him and was holding something that was protruding from his stomach, blood gushing out from around, spilling out over on to the ground. A few drops hit Clary, but she didn't have the strength to move out of the way. She looked at his face to see it opening and closing like a fish, and as he looked at Clary, still gaping, another arrow struck him, this one cracking open his skull and out of his eye socket. Clary twisted away from the grotesque sight, trying to control her nausea. The Minions eye was suspended on the end of the arrow, goo and blood dripping from it. The man stood for another fraction of a second before he fell, crashing to the floor next to her, dead.

Clary slowly unfroze herself and tried to move away from his disfigured form, but from all the fighting, she found she didn't have the strength to heave the dead weight off her legs and escape. She tried squirming out from under him, but like before, it did no good. Her wrist was useless and she couldn't get him to budge.

Clary yelled out in frustration and lay panting, trying to think of what to do. She was in a worse situation as before; she couldn't fight and was now a sitting duck to any passing demon.

A shadow swept across her, and she looked up, fearfully, fully expected a demon about to tear her apart. The sight that greeted her, though, sent relief spreading throughout her system.

"Alec! Thomas! I thought you were at the tunnel waiting for me. Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

"We waited for a bit, but then Magnus sent us a message that you were being attacked but he couldn't get to you himself. He was dealing with a pack of demons at that moment and only saw you in passing glance. You're lucky; he might have not seen you at all."

Clary smiled and laughed as the boys lifted the weight off her legs and helped her upright. "Well, I'm just glad to see you. Nice shot by the way Alec."

Alec blushed slightly but looked pleased with himself. Thomas quickly glanced around, checking nothing was creeping up on them before he spoke.

"Yeah, it was. We went on to the roofs to get a better view to find you quicker, we spotted him with the axe just about to finish you, and then Alec leapt into action. I'd barely taken in your situation when Alec had loosed that arrow." Thomas glanced at her and frowned. "Is your wrist alright? You're holding it funny."

Clary shook her head. "No, it's broken. I fell when he attacked me and landed on it."

Thomas leant down, as Alec heaved the Minion off her feet and kicked him out the way, and gently took her wrist in his hands. It had swollen up and was a horrid purple colour, but no bones were sticking out of her flesh thankfully. Thomas took out his stele and gently drew a healing rune on it.

Clary smiled at him as the pain that had been throbbing in the wrist faded away. The swelling was going down as she watched and before long her wrist was back to normal.

"All better now?" Thomas asked her.

Clary glanced up at him and smiled again. "Yeah, thanks Thomas."

He beamed back at her and then helped her up. "We have to go find Jeffery."

Clary was about to answer when she spotted something in the crowd of people. "Jace!"

She quickly moved towards him, dodging people on the way, Alec and Thomas close on her heels. She dashed up to him and wrapped her arms around him kissing his neck. He cuddled her close to him with one arm and leant his head on top of hers for a second.

Clary pulled back after a stolen moment with her husband and started talking at him. "Oh Jace! You have no idea how happy I am . . . to . . . Jace?"

Jace wasn't looking at her or even paying any attention to her. He was staring over her head, glaring at something. She tried again.

"Jace?"

"Stay away from my wife."

It took Clary a few seconds to work out that he was talking to Thomas, who looked taken aback.

-x-

**Please review?**

**Ohhhhhh! I love this, I really do. I had most of these scenes planned out since I started writing this story! You guys have no idea how good it is to finally show you guys and let you in on my darling secret.**

**I'm getting to the stage of cautious happiness again. Still with Craig, but too frightened to love him in case of me getting hurt again. Know that he is absolutely head over heels for me though which is a wonderful feeling. **

**Just got a dress for my leavers ball (dance/dinner thing for people in 6****th**** year now we're all going off to uni and stuff) and damn I love it! It hides my worst bits, my bit of a tummy and my large thighs, and really makes my best bits stand out, my curvy figure and umm large chest. I hear girls in my school saying they want bigger . . . chest attachments right and I want smaller ones?! They attract serious unwanted attention and get in the way all the time. Plus bras for my size are stupidly hard to find :( so small chest attachments are seriously good don't complain! I'd trade anyday!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here you go guys! The last one of our five day five chapter deal :D I want you guys to understand that I couldn't have done this without my darling Beta who is absolutely amazing, not only is she so good at getting chapters back to me in plenty of time, I also consider a very good friend who helps me through so many problems in my recently chaotic life. Thank you, my friend :)**

**I would also like to note that it's my birthday today and I am so excited! I've had a wonderful day and have got such a loving and giving family :D**

**Disclaimer: . . . Nope, the morphing process of becoming Cassandra Claire has failed once again :(**

-x-

"I'm not sure I understand, Jace?" Thomas looked at Alec and Clary, puzzled.

"I saw you looking at her before, holding her hand. Well don't! Just stay away from her!" Jace looked stormy and tightened his grip on Clary.

She spoke up then. "Jace, he was healing my wrist. I broke it when a Minion attacked me so Thomas was fixing it up for me."

"He attacked you?" Jace looked even angrier now and ten times as dangerous.

"No love, a Minion attacked me. Thomas and Alec saved me from it." Clary was being extra patient with him to try and get through to him.

Jace's face crumpled and he looked at Clary in confusion. His eyes, which used to be so bright and happy, were now dull and sore. His hair had lost its usual softness and shine to become lanky and almost greasy. He hardly ever smiled at the moment either; he looked sad and sickly. _Well, he is sick,_ Clary thought as she sighed deeply. _Angel, we have to fix him soon._

She gently stroked his cheek and he nuzzled into her hand. He opened his mouth to try and say something but then just closed it again. He pulled away and looked into her eyes for a moment, struggling to find the lost words in his head. Eventually he spoke though.

"I . . . I've got to go. Umm . . . See you later . . . yeah?"

"Hun," Clary quickly said, "the Clave wants all of us to go and find Jeffery, the Warlock, who's stuck inside the Institute. So me, you, Alec and Thomas are going to head down there and help him."

"They want me to go?"

Clary nodded. "Yes, my love."

Jace smiled weakly and nodded. "Ok . . . Where to then?"

They both turned to Alec who gestured and said; "This way."

The group began weaving their way through the people still fighting, occasionally taking swipes at Minions and demons to help out their fellow Shadow hunters. Most Minions recognised the group and desperately tried to make quick escapes, to little avail. Bows were pulled out and all the fleeing men were filled with arrows in seconds, Alec adding to the fray.

Jace smiled fleetingly at Clary and her heart lifted. She smiled warmly at him and reached out to take his hand. Jace's grin returned and he took her hand and, with a new spring in his step, pulled her after Alec and Thomas, who were now stood at the tunnel entrance waiting.

The two men grinned at the happy couple then ducked down into the tunnel, Alec muttering something about fires.

They had made it a little way into the tunnel when Jace pulled Clary to a stop. "Wait," he gestured for Alec and Thomas to go on. Alec nodded and pulled Thomas round the next bend in the corridor.

"What is it, Jace?" Clary said after the other two had vanished, worry clearly displayed on her face.

"I can think properly right now, and I need to tell you some things." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Clary . . . I know . . . I know there's something . . . wrong with me." He was looking down at the dirt floor never once looking her in the face whilst he spluttered out these words. "And- and I don't know how to fix it. You know I would if I could but . . . I just . . ." He sighed as he trailed off for a few moments. Clary was nervous and didn't want to break the silence that stretched between them, but she was desperate to tell him that it was ok, that she was going to fix him. Finally Jace spoke again. "I want to ask something of you, Clary, but I know you're going to say no."

Clary frowned. "I'd do anything for you Jace. You know that, right."

He sighed. "You're not going to like what I'm about to request."

Clary stared at him for a moment, wary. She waited for him to keep speaking, but he didn't. His golden eyes blazed for once and Clary was captivated by them. _So beautiful . . . _Clary couldn't remember a time when she hadn't wanted to look into those golden pools, but right now Clary wanted nothing more to look away from their intense stare.

Finally Jace spoke. "I want you to promise me something." He paused for a moment, searching her face for something. "I need you to promise that you'll . . . finish me, if I get worse. I can't bear this, I'm fighting it as much as possible, but I'm losing, I can feel it. I want you to kill me Clary, if I will never wake up again and be me. I love you so much Clary, and it's because of that that I've lasted so long. But I don't want to become . . . that. A shadow of my former self."

Clary couldn't speak. She opened her mouth numerous times to try and speak. To yell her answer, No! To tell him that he was crazy. But she couldn't force the words to form in her mouth. A tear sprung out of the corner of her eye. It ran a track down her face and dripped off her chin. Jace's eyes followed it all the way down until it fell, shimmering, to the floor. They then flicked up to meet the green of Clary's eyes. He looked at her for a long time, begging her to do as he asked. Clary silently nodded once.

Jace sighed with relief and pulled her tightly into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "Thank you . . . Thank you," he whispered between kisses.

A few minutes later they joined Alec and Thomas. Jace nodded at Alec and moved sheepishly towards Thomas.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry, man." Jace staring at his feet. "I'm-"

Thomas raised his hand to stop him. "No apology necessary. We'll sort you out soon enough, friend."

Jace grinned at him and laughed. "Well then, let's get this show on the road!" And with that they set off down the tunnel.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Magnus was still sitting uncomfortably at the Queen's table still. He knew that he had to go, to help the Clave, but he wanted to try and enlist the Faeries help, and he knew he could only leave when the Queen allowed it.

The Queen right now was simply sat eating at the head of the table. Her head advisor was still bowing to her, but Magnus could see his legs beginning to shake. He was watching for a few minutes before the Queen giggled and spoke.

"Do you feel sorry for him?"

Magnus chuckled. "I find your method of . . . asserting your authority most comical, your majesty."

The Queen smiled and turned to the advisor. "You may rise."

The advisor stood up and, after a sneer at Magnus, he gracefully walked towards the Queen. He went to whisper in her ear, but she waved him away from her head.

"No! I don't want you snaking in my ear! Speak so our guest may hear too."

The advisor pursed his lips but dipped his head to her, standing up from his hunched position.

"My Queen. Your Council questions your decision to help the Warlock."

There was a beat of silence where the Queen's fork was set down again and her hands folded in her lap. Magnus' eyes widened, frightened of the outburst that was now inevitably.

"You would DARE question MY decision!"

Magnus cringed away from her, shocked that the advisor actually had the balls to say that. It surprised him that the man would be so stupid.

The advisor took a step back, bowing low to his Queen.

"OUT! Get out NOW!" She smashed her fist down on to the table, sending fruit and slices of meat flying, a pitcher of wine toppled over and splashed down on to the floor with a clatter. She stood and let out an animalistic scream and two knights jumped forwards, grasping the advisor by his arms and began to drag him away.

Magnus gently reached forwards and carefully plucked a grape off the table and popped it in his mouth, enjoying the sweet taste. The Queen was breathing slightly heavier than usual and was staring into the distance, calming herself down. After nearly a minute she sat back down and continued eating with Magnus.

"I apologise for that . . . event."

Magnus bowed his head to her. "Some things are unavoidable. May I then bring up my next issue, your majesty?"

The Queen smiled beautifully at him. "Of course, my friend."

Magnus dipped his head towards the Queen. "Thank you, your majesty. The issue I would like to bring to your valuable attention is the war that is raging in London just now. The Minions and demons are attacking the London Institute as we speak, and unfortunately we are out-matched and hopelessly outnumbered. I would like to beg for your help in this matter. The Clave would be most appreciative if you were to offer aid."

The Queen nodded her head slowly and twisted it to one side, considering his request. There were a few beats of silence before the Queen spoke. It was the longest seconds of his life; not knowing whether the Queen would dismiss his request or if she would be offended by it were his greatest worries.

"And what would the Faeries receive in return?"

Magnus let out the breath he'd been holding slowly. "What does your majesty desire?"

The Queen smiled slowly, cunningly, reminding Magnus of a fox that had cornered its prey. She waved forwards her advisors and the flocked around her, all jabbering at her like crows. Some of them were obviously beyond sanity and were just spouting an endless stream of disjointed words that Magnus couldn't understand but it appeared that the Queen did. She silenced all of the advisors except one who was spouting the same five words over and over again.

"London. February. Boom! Wing-wing die. London. February. Boom! Wing-wing die."

She raised her hand to stop him too and nodded slowly at him, a contemplating look on her face as she slowly stroked one finger across her lips, deeply engrossed in her thoughts.

Magnus waited for a moment before daring to speak. "Your majesty?"

The Queen turned back to him a sweet smile now formed on her face. "Yes?"

"If I might be so bold . . . I am curious of what your advisor is meaning. I am afraid I am terrible at such riddles."

The Queen pursed her lips, a flash of annoyance running across her perfect features before the sweet smile returned. "I will decide on my course of action before disclosing such information."

Magnus dipped his head. "Of course, your majesty. Please forgive me; my curiosity got the better of me."

The Queen nodded and turned back to her advisors and pointed to another who started speaking in heavily accented English to her.

"If I may, my lady . . . We c-could gain greatly from working with the Clave. So far we have stayed as much as possible out of this war, but the evil one will not stop at the destruction of the Clave. He hated Downworlders before and I believe that he has not simply forgotten his hatred for us, your majesty. The Clave at least does not want us dead."

The Queen nodded slowly, once again stroking her lip in thought. There were a few moments when most in the court room didn't even dare to breathe before the Queen spoke.

"We will help the Shadow hunters in their time of need." She nodded once again and waved the advisors back to their posts, which they hastened to. "As for your question, Warlock, my advisor has the gift of foresight. Regrettably the price of his gift is his sanity so it takes a riddler to de-riddle his often cryptic messages. London, obvious, the place of the deed. February I took to mean Valentine by it being the month containing Valentine's Day. Boom . . . death, destruction. Wing-wing is us, the Faeries, as a mundane described us as many millennia ago. Die, I believe speaks for itself."

Magnus nodded. "Thank, your majesty, I am most grateful for your kindness. May I ask what the price of your help is?"

The foxy grinned returned to the Queen's face and she parted her lips slightly to reveal perfect, white teeth. Magnus gulped, uncomfortable under her stare.

"I shall discuss that with the Clave Elders once the battle is won. Unless I am mistaken, the battle is being fought this second correct? And so we must hasten to save the Shadow hunters?"

Magnus nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, your majesty; it is a great honour to speak with you about such important matters." He was starting to twitch in his seat, itching to get back and make sure everyone he cared about was alright.

The Queen stood and motioned for Magnus to do the same. He complied and the Queen raised her hands to eye level, clapping her hands twice. The table and chairs, complete with food, vanished.

"Knights!" Her voice was no longer the voice of quiet, calm Queen. She seemed to grow, her words booming out with the authority and ferocity of an avenging Queen. "Today we slaughter the evil ones, wipe clean the face of our precious London of the demonic stench that we have so allowed to settle over it. Today we reclaim what is ours!"

The knights roared and she raised her hands above her head, welcoming the enthusiasm and blood lust she had caused. "Ready our army!"

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

Maia was sweating so much now. She knew, just _knew_, that she was on the last level. She was in fact right; her instincts had not led her astray. She was crouched in the shadows just before what looked like the final set of stairs before a door: the exit. Two guards stood on either side of the door, but she didn't know how to get past them; at least not without alerting the entire prison of her presence. She knew that the only way to get through them was to either draw them away from the door and slip through behind them, or kill them. But Maia understood the door. There wasn't a way to open the door from this side, it was someone on the other side that had control over who entered and who left.

So to leave she had to be a guard . . . so steal someone's uniform? But how to get hold of one without attracting attention or making too much of mess? Obviously the two guards by the door were discounted; it would be too noisy to kill both of them, the gate keeper would notice. But how did the guards actually leave? Did they just knock? And all of them were in twos, how was she supposed to get out as a one?

Then a thought occurred. _What about the stair guards? Surely they must clock off at some point?_ All the guards wore the same uniform. All she had to do was wait for the two patrolling the top corridor at the moment to walk up to the stair case leading down to the next level- the guard there already disposed off-and take them out. Nick one of their uniforms and walk out. It should work, no? But what about the other prisoners? Will they give her away?

Maia sighed and began to slink down the corridor after the two guards before ducking into a cubby hole half way down the corridor. She had a funny feeling that this wasn't simply the end of her imprisonment.

-x-

-Jump-

-x-

The group of four crept down the dark, murky corridor, Alec leading with his witchlight held aloft. Clary clutched at Jace's hand, unsure of what they were going to find and afraid that she was going to lose her beloved Jace. She had a very bad feeling about going down here; Finn had said everyone had been slaughtered down there . . . so what lurked in the shadows now? The thought frightened her.

The tunnel opened up and Clary gasped.

What had been the foyer of the Institute was now a graveyard. The Clave had decided to keep a few Shadow hunters down in the Institute to look after the children should a rogue demon get down the tunnels. Unfortunately they weren't banking on an entire hoard of demons streaming down here _with _a Greater demon. They had had no chance.

A sob rose in Clary's throat as she saw the body of a baby wrapped in a blanket lying on the floor. She released Jace's hand and started towards it before Thomas caught her wrist and shook his head, knowing that the poor thing was dead already. She jerked back towards Jace as a low growl rumbled through from the next chamber. The group glanced nervously at each other before slowly moving forwards, heading towards the noise.

After carefully picking their way across the littered bodies they crouched as one and slunk into the corridor leading out of the foyer. The next chamber came into view as they treaded a few careful paces across the metal gratings that covered the floors of the tunnels. What they saw horrified them. In the middle of this massive chamber- possibly the old dining hall- stood Jeffery, his arms stretched above his head as he chanted frantically. There was a field domed over him, protecting him from the dozen or so demons that were throwing themselves at the shield and bouncing off, crying in pain. The dome would hold as long as his energy and concentration did too, which by the look of his arms wasn't long. They were shaking as were his legs, considerably so.

The rumble sounded again and the group's attention was momentarily diverted from the Warlock.

The Greater demon sat to one side, barking out instructions and pointing with one of its vicious long claws. It was a huge, grotesque thing, leaking green puss from pours that littered its purplish skin. The puss oozed down its side and had congealed in places, forming a hard crust over parts of its skin. It stank too, causing waves of a repulsive oder to wash over the group every time it moved. Clary nearly screamed as she saw it lift a Shadow hunter's body to its mouth and tore the unfortunate person's head off. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp rows of teeth, rather like shark teeth. There were tentacles that shot out of the foul thing's mouth and wrapped around the rest of the body and shovelled it whole it to its mouth.

The Greater demon was about as tall as the ceiling, and this was when it sat down. Clary couldn't understand how it had come to be in the room; the other demons would have had to stoop to get through the corridors, she didn't think one paw/hand of the Greater demon would fit in the confined space- though she wouldn't bet her life on it.

Jace glanced once at Alec, who nodded, before they ran out together. Jace had his sword out and ready and sliced one demon in half and drove the blade into another. Alec had strung his bow and fired two arrows into one demon before lightly scampering up its back and plunging another arrow straight through its skull. All three vanished at the same time and all died before the other mass of demons had time to react.

The Greater demon roared, spraying out chunks of flesh and spewing blood whilst Clary and Thomas darted into the room to join the boys, getting their backs as the demons formed a circle around the group.

"Jace!"

"Yes dear?"

"Why did you do this? We could have thought about this for a sec-"

"And by that time Jeffery would have collapsed in exhaustion and died by being eaten. Look at him Clary!"

She did and reluctantly had to agree with him. Jeffery looked terrible. "Fine. Let's move that way so he can rest, eh?"

Jace nodded and as one the group started shuffling towards the Warlock. The demons whined and snapped at them, lashing out with their claws or in one case its thorny blue-red tail. Jace took no notice of their feeble attempts to keep him back and just swung his sword at any that got close enough. Alec was pointing his bow at them and that was enough to ward them back from him, but none of the trailing ones came near Clary or Thomas.

The Greater demon was squawking at its demons, desperately trying to get them to attack. They cowered and whimper, not wanting to attack, but not wanting to disobey the Greater demon at the same time. They groaned and swayed, desperate to kill the Shadow hunters, but so afraid of them at the same time. The creatures stamped their assorted collection of feet against the ground cause a loud din. The Greater demon was shaking, roaring at them- whether at the demons or the Shadow hunters, they didn't know. It roared once more before lurching forwards, heaving its oversize bulk on to all fours and made its way towards the group of Shadow hunters; obviously deciding that it had to do the job itself.

_Oh, shit._ The thought coursed through three of the young Shadow hunters.

Jace's were a tad different. _Oh! It looks like a giant marshmallow!_

-x-

**Can't resist a little bit of humour, I mean it wouldn't be Jace otherwise would it?**

**I had planned for the London attack to be done in that 5 chapter spree but regrettably I haven't managed to fit it all in . . . sorry? Will hopefully finish it soon :)**


End file.
